Co-hosted with KASBP's New York and New Jersey chapters, the event drew about 170 pharmaceutical and biotech professionals from Korea and the US to discuss the full drug development cycle — from discovery and clinical trials to FDA approval and direct commercialization — as SK Biopharm looks to build a broader global collaboration network on the back of its US direct-sales success.
![Attendees pose for a group photo at the "From Unmet Need to Patient Access" conference held Saturday (local time) in New Jersey. From left: Choi Woo-jin, VP of US Business Development at SK Life Science; Shin Hae-in, VP and head of the Portfolio Division at SK Biopharm; Sunita Misra, Chief Medical Officer at SK Life Science; Kang Min-seok, president of the KASBP New Jersey/New York chapter; Kristina Stracco, VP of Market Access at SK Life Science; Lee Dong-hoon, president of SK Biopharm; Jo Geun-yong, head of the Commercial Division at SK Biopharm/SK Life Science; and Jeong Sang-mok, president of Naturecell. [SK Biopharm]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/12/news-p.v1.20261012.e4e21c91560f4983a7e2ff35b5cb1ab8_P1.jpg)
SK Biopharm gathered global pharmaceutical and biotech experts in the United States to share the full development and commercialization know-how behind cenobamate, the epilepsy drug it developed independently.
SK Biopharm announced Monday that it co-hosted a conference with the New Jersey and New York chapters of the Korean-American Society of Biopharmaceutical Scientists (KASBP) in New Jersey on Saturday (local time). Held under the theme "From Unmet Need to Patient Access," the event drew about 170 participants, including representatives from SK Biopharm and its US subsidiary SK Life Science, KASBP members, and professionals from the pharmaceutical, biotech and academic communities.
The conference drew attention as a rare instance of a Korean pharmaceutical company convening global experts on US soil to survey the entire drug development process — from discovery through direct commercialization — and explore avenues for collaboration. The program was organized into three sessions: discovery and R&D, clinical trials and regulation, and commercialization and beyond.
In the first session, faculty from New York Medical College and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School examined the challenges of developing epilepsy treatments, while SK Biopharm presented key turning points and lessons from its own research and development process.
The second session focused on the FDA's new drug review procedures and the clinical development of cenobamate. The final session featured wide-ranging discussions on pricing, market access, building a direct sales network in the United States, and business expansion strategies.
Cenobamate — sold in the United States under the brand name Xcopri — is a treatment for focal-onset seizures in adults that SK Biopharm brought to market entirely on its own, from candidate discovery and clinical trials through FDA approval in November 2019 and the establishment of a direct US sales network. The drug has demonstrated a statistically significant rate of complete seizure freedom in patients whose seizures were not controlled by existing medications, giving it a strong competitive profile.
SK Biopharm has built a direct-sales model through its subsidiary SK Life Science, handling distribution and marketing across the United States without a third-party distribution partner. The company is widely regarded as having produced the most commercially successful US launch of any innovative drug developed by a Korean pharmaceutical company.
"This event was not about showcasing cenobamate's results — it was about sharing the questions we wrestled with and the key decisions we made along the way," SK Biopharm President Lee Dong-hoon said. "I hope the experience we have accumulated helps others reduce trial and error in their own journeys. We will continue to explore better approaches to drug development and new possibilities for collaboration together."
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