[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 19th that it has been selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's public contest project, ‘Establishment of Micro Medical Robot Development Support Center.’
The ‘Micro Medical Robot Development Support Center Establishment Project’ is a project with a total budget of 30.9 billion KRW, including 18.2 billion KRW in national funds, to be invested over five years from this year to 2024. It aims to support the rapid commercialization of cutting-edge medical devices such as micro medical robots and converged medical devices.
The Micro Medical Robot Development Support Center will be established on an 8,800㎡ site in the Buk-gu Advanced Industrial Complex and will include ▲prototype production facilities and equipment (93 types) compliant with the ‘Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)’ standards for clinical-use micro medical robots ▲performance evaluation facilities and equipment (39 types) using animals to verify the safety and medical efficacy of developed technologies ▲and installation of corporate residency and shared network spaces to foster related companies.
Gwangju City has led the creation of an advanced micro medical robot ecosystem for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era by ▲designating micro medical robots as a national agenda in 2017 ▲establishing the ‘Micro Medical Robot Technology Development Center’ in 2018 ▲and attracting the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s public contest project ‘Micro Medical Robot Commercialization Technology Development Project (R&D)’ in 2019.
In particular, the executing organization, the Korea Micro Medical Robot Research Institute (Foundation), has achieved numerous technology transfers and holds the world’s largest number of patent applications in the field of micro medical robots.
Through securing this project, Gwangju City will complete a system that can provide one-stop support for the entire cycle from research and development (R&D) to commercialization of micro medical robots for the first time in the world.
This project is expected to foster one KOSDAQ-listed company, three product brandings, and five venture startups, and create 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs through the co-growth of upstream and downstream industries.
Son Kyung-jong, Director of the AI Industry Bureau of Gwangju City, said, “With last year’s acquisition of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Micro Medical Robot Commercialization Project and this Development Support Center Project, Gwangju has secured the foundation to become Korea’s ‘Global Hub City for the Micro Medical Robot Industry.’ We expect Gwangju to establish itself as a global mecca for the micro medical robot industry and to revitalize the regional economy through the advanced high value-added medical device industry.”
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