From October 12 to 13, 2026, 2026 KDDF Co-development & Partnership for Globalization Symposium (2026 KDDF CPG Symposium) was held in Seoul, South Korea. Senior experts from global primary companies such as AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk and Bristol Myers Squibb in life sciences, along with leading investment funds and professional advisory firms, gathered to discuss the outlook for global collaboration, co-development opportunities and cross-border deal strategies. Aaron Gu, a partner at Han Kun Law Offices, was invited to attend and delivered a special talk titled "What You Should Know About the Chinese Life Sciences Market – Highlights, Opportunities and Trends", sharing updates on China's regulatory landscape and the opportunities it presents.
In his special talk, Aaron Gu took the systemic reform of China's pharmaceutical regulatory regime since 2015 as his central thread, walking through key milestones such as the "July 22 Storm" clinical data inspection campaign, the rollout of the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) system, and the 2024 pilot program opening the cell and gene therapy (CGT) field to foreign investment. Building on that foundation, he went on to analyze how deal structures in China's pharmaceutical sector have evolved, with the shift of focus from license-in to high-value license-out transactions, the emergence of the "NewCo" model, and the acceleration of both cross-border and domestic M&A. Turning to Order 818, he outlined the latest trends in the development of investigator-initiated trials (IITs) and policy direction, as well as the advantages for global companies running IITs in China.
The symposium was hosted by the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF). Established in 2011 at the initiative of Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Ministry of Science and ICT, KDDF is dedicated to advancing drug research and development in Korea and providing support for clinical trials. The CPG (Co-development & Partnership for Globalization) conference series is one of KDDF's key platforms for driving high-quality collaboration between Korea's homegrown innovative drug developers and major global pharmaceutical companies.
Aaron Gu's Profile
Aaron Gu specializes in corporate, regulatory compliance, and transactional services for life sciences, biopharmaceutical, medical and healthcare industries, including biosecurity and human genetic resource issues, clinical trial matters, product marketing authorizations, GxP compliance, Spin off-NewCo transactions, drug licensing and collaboration, as well as regulatory issues involved in venture capital and private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, and foreign and outbound investments in the life sciences industries. Specifically, Aaron Gu's services cover a full range of products including drugs, medical devices, IVDs, cosmetics, general foods, special foods, animal drugs, animal foods, etc. Furthermore, Aaron Gu has been interviewed by 36Kr, Blue View, Caixin, China Business Network, Dutch Financial Daily, Economic Observer, Faxian Magazine, Financial Times, Healthcare Executive, International Pharmaceutical News for China, Jiemian, Southern Weekly, Thomson Reuters and other media (in alphabetical order).
