[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association announced on the 17th that a delegation consisting of Won Hee-mok, chairman of the Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Association, and Yoon Sung-tae, chairman of Huons Global (chairman of the Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Association), visited Boston, USA, the world's largest global pharmaceutical and bio cluster, from the 14th. They expanded the participation of domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Industry Liaison Program (ILP) and conducted various networking activities with local companies and institutions.
The association delegation traveled to the US to participate in the Executive Briefing (EB) specially arranged by MIT ILP from the 14th for about four days for Korean companies. The association joined the MIT ILP consortium membership in June 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 14 consortium participating companies have been conducting regular online seminars with MIT researchers on topics such as drug delivery systems (DDS) instead of face-to-face events.
This EB was the first face-to-face event since joining, structured so that consortium participating companies could directly meet with MIT's top faculty in areas of interest such as new drug development and oncology to discuss research technologies. Business discussions were also arranged with MIT spin-off startups in the relevant fields.
On the day, Professor Connor Colley of MIT presented on the development of an AI-based organic compound synthesis system aimed at new drug development, and Professor Arturo Vegas of Boston University and Dr. Xian Quinnel of MIT presented on low-molecular inhibitors targeting interleukin (IL)-4 related to inflammation and cancer. Professor Emeritus Charles Cooney of MIT's Chemical Engineering Department generously offered advice on how to develop leadership capabilities in the pharmaceutical and bio industries.
Following this, presentations were given by MIT spin-off companies including ▲ low-molecular new drug development platform (DeepCure) ▲ innovative treatment for dormant cancer cells (PellisTex Therapeutics) ▲ effective DDS polymer dissociation oral administration (Veramorph) ▲ blood coagulation diagnostic platform (Coagulo Medical Technologies).
An introduction session was also held for Jamil Clinic, a research center in AI and healthcare fields that collaborates on R&D with global pharmaceutical companies such as Japan's Takeda and France's Sanofi through partnerships.
Representatives and business development (BD) and research & development (R&D) heads from domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies including Samjin Pharmaceutical, Yuhan Corporation, Ildong Pharmaceutical, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Huons participated in the event, seeking collaboration with startups possessing advanced bio technologies alongside MIT's diverse academic achievements.
The delegation from the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association visiting Boston, USA, is taking a commemorative photo.
Following the event, the delegation visited biofoundry company Ginkgo Bioworks to discuss cooperation plans with domestic companies in depth. Ginkgo Bioworks is a bio-venture spun off from MIT in 2008. It possesses a proprietary cell programming platform and provides services tailored to client needs across various industries. The delegation also visited Bridge Biotherapeutics and LG Chem, which are actively engaged in open innovation activities within the Boston ecosystem.
The next afternoon, they held a meeting with Van Bradford, Vice President of MassBio. MassBio is a nonprofit organization representing the Massachusetts life sciences cluster in the US, with over 1,600 members including biotech companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations. MassBio operates various open innovation programs such as MassBio Drive and Partnering Work. The association and MassBio discussed co-hosting next year's K-Pharm networking event (tentatively named '2023 Korea Pharma Day') and agreed to continue detailed discussions going forward.
In the evening, a dinner meeting was held with the new executive teams of the Korean American Bio Association (KABA), Korean American Society of Pharmaceutical Professionals (KASBP), and New England Bioscience Society (NEBS), providing an opportunity to network with Korean-American life science experts active in Boston. The meeting was attended by KABA Chairman Ko Jong-sung, KASBP Boston Branch Head Kim Dae-sik, and NEBS President Jung Da-jung, among others, exchanging broad opinions on expanding the role of Korean-American experts in the US as a bridge for the development of the Korean pharmaceutical and bio industry.
Chairman Won Hee-mok said, “Since the visit to Boston in 2019, Korean pharmaceutical companies' entry into the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) and industry-academia cooperation with MIT have been actively progressing, and the number of companies entering has exceeded 15 in three years.” He added, “We will expand cooperation with MIT and emerging startups in the Boston innovation ecosystem to achieve tangible results and will continue to actively support domestic companies' global open innovation efforts.”
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