Specialized Support Institution for Bio Startups 'K-Bio Lab Hub' Selected in Songdo
Last Year, Government-Led First Educational Institution Bio Workforce Training Center Attracted
Industry-Academia-Research-Hospital Integrated 'Incheon Bio Cluster' Development Gains Momentum
Incheon Mayor Park Nam-chun (center) is taking a commemorative photo with participants after the "Industry-Academia-Research-Hospital Roundtable for Cooperation to Attract the K-Bio Lab Hub" held at Songdo G Tower. June 7, 2021. Photo by Incheon City.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon has risen as a leading city in the domestic bio industry by securing both the 'K-Bio Lab Hub' and the 'Bio Workforce Training Center,' which are key elements of the bio industry.
Incheon City announced on the 10th that following the attraction of the Bio Workforce Training Center to Songdo last year, it was also selected for the K-Bio Lab Hub establishment project, which was publicly recruited by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the day before that after a presentation evaluation targeting five local governments including Incheon, Gyeongnam, Daejeon, Chungbuk, and Jeonbuk, Incheon was chosen as the optimal site for the K-Bio Lab Hub establishment project.
The K-Bio Lab Hub is a bio startup support institution benchmarked after 'LabCentral,' a famous bio startup support organization in Boston, USA, known for producing the global pharmaceutical company Moderna. It will establish specialized support infrastructure for startups in the life sciences field, such as new drug development, to foster bio startup companies.
Songdo in Incheon, selected as the optimal site, was evaluated as suitable for the K-Bio Lab Hub due to its collaborative network of industry, academia, research, and hospitals, including leading domestic bio anchor companies such as Samsung Biologics and Celltrion, as well as Songdo Severance Hospital. Additionally, the project plan received high scores for offering free land and strong financial support plans.
Kang Sungcheon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "The K-Bio Lab Hub is not only for the region where it is established but a specialized support institution that all Korean bio startups can use," adding, "It will be operated as a space where bio startups and institutions from various regions can collaborate on research, becoming a cradle for the birth of 'bio unicorns.'"
The K-Bio Lab Hub plans to apply for a preliminary feasibility study in the second half of this year, and if the project plan passes, construction will begin in 2023, with full-scale operation starting in 2025. The government will invest a total of 250 billion KRW in national funds.
Earlier, Incheon attracted the Bio Workforce Training Center in October last year, which supplies excellent talent to domestic large bio companies and overseas firms.
Once the government-led training center, a national project, opens, it will be the third in the world after Europe and the United States, and the first in Asia.
Incheon City plans to build the center's building at Yonsei University International Campus by 2023 and operate full-scale educational programs from 2024. Yonsei University, responsible for educational operations, will run master's degree programs and non-degree courses for employees and job seekers, aiming to train 2,000 professionals annually.
Mayor Park Namchun stated, "With the attraction of the K-Bio Lab Hub, Incheon’s bio industry has gained two wings along with the Bio Workforce Training Center," adding, "we expect the 'Incheon Bio Cluster' project, which integrates industry, academia, research, and hospitals, to gain further momentum."
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