Innovative Pharmaceutical Consortium Jointly Invests 2.3 Billion KRW in US Biotech

Dong-A ST and Huons Joint Investment
First Joint Investment Project Case... Accelerating Practical Collaboration

The Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium Foundation (KIMCo Foundation) announced on the 27th that it has decided to make a joint investment of approximately 2.3 billion KRW in the U.S. biotech company GeneEdit, together with Dong-A ST and Huons. The foundation explained that the joint investment project was initiated to enhance the global competitiveness of the Korean pharmaceutical and bio industry.

GeneEdit is a U.S. Silicon Valley biotech company founded by a Korean scientist, possessing a core technology of a polymer-based delivery platform that can specifically deliver gene therapies to targeted tissues. Previously, GeneEdit received investments from numerous domestic and international institutions, including global big pharma Eli Lilly and global venture capital Sequoia Capital.

The key to this joint investment project is to create synergy by combining the development capabilities and financial strength of the investing companies with the excellent technology of the biotech receiving the investment. The KIMCo Foundation Steering Committee, composed of 24 executive-level experts from pharmaceutical and bio companies and formed in September last year, resolved this and has been conducting a pilot project since the second half of last year to select and evaluate investment targets.

The KIMCo Foundation expressed its ambition to use this investment as a catalyst to build a system where pharmaceutical companies, as well as financial investment alliances including domestic and international venture capital, can be formed around promising biotechs with advanced technologies.

Heo Kyunghwa, CEO of the KIMCo Foundation, stated, "This investment is the first successful collaboration case attempted through the power of collective intelligence via inter-company cooperation in the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry," adding, "The foundation will expand this project this year to accelerate innovation through industry collaboration."

The KIMCo Foundation is a non-profit foundation established in August 2020 through joint contributions from 56 pharmaceutical and bio companies and the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association. As of February, it has expanded its scope by establishing partnerships with 11 domestic and international collaborative institutions, including the Hongneung Strong Small District. The KIMCo Foundation is accelerating the establishment of a platform for collaboration that pools industry resources and capabilities to carry out projects that individual companies find difficult to pursue independently. This year, the foundation’s joint investment projects for global new drug development are planned to be held twice annually.