InnoCube 'S to B Challenge' Recruitment... 200 Million Seed Investment Support

InnoCube, a bio healthcare accelerator company, announced on the 3rd that it is recruiting the first cohort for the ‘S to B (Science to Business) Challenge’ to discover promising researchers and startups in the bio healthcare field.

'S to B Challenge' 1st Recruitment Poster [Photo by InnoCube]

Handok and Genexine are participating together in this challenge. Preliminary startup teams will receive initial funding and customized programs tailored to each growth stage to help their creative ideas and technologies be commercialized.

The ‘S to B Challenge 1st cohort’ is open to prospective entrepreneurs and startups less than three years old in the bio healthcare sectors such as bio/pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital healthcare. Selected preliminary startup teams will receive seed investments of around 200 million KRW, and startups will be supported with seed and Pre-A investments. Shared office space and laboratories including research equipment will also be provided.

Companies selected in key interest areas that can collaborate with Handok or Genexine include metabolic diseases, rare diseases, oncology, synthetic new drugs with innovative therapies, immunotherapies, antibody drugs, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), cell and gene therapies (CGT), messenger RNA (mRNA) technologies, and other biopharmaceuticals. These companies will also be given priority opportunities for joint research. Additionally, selected companies will receive services for commercialization such as technology diagnosis, business consulting and mentoring, full-cycle research and development (R&D) support, and industrial and investment networking.

Applications for the S to B Challenge will be accepted through the InnoCube website’s support inquiry section until the 21st. After document screening, the first round of in-person evaluation and a face-to-face presentation in May will be conducted to select the final participants. Detailed information and inquiries about the S to B Challenge are available on the InnoCube website.

Kwon Sohyun, CEO of InnoCube, said, “Since the S to B Challenge is conducted together with Handok and Genexine, which are recognized as exemplary cases of open innovation in the bio healthcare field, we will share know-how and provide unwavering support to help promising ideas and technologies be commercialized.” She added, “We hope to enhance the global competitiveness of Korea’s bio healthcare sector and establish a healthy bio venture ecosystem through the mutual growth of promising researchers and startups.”