Celltrion Launches 3rd Class of Open Innovation Program

Selection of Four Companies Completed
Driving the Activation of the Bio-Ecosystem

On August 29, Celltrion announced that it has selected the participating companies for the 3rd class of the '2025 Seoul Biohub Open Innovation Program' (hereinafter referred to as the Open Innovation Program), which aims to foster a virtuous cycle in the bio-ecosystem, and has officially launched the program's activities.

At the orientation (OT) for the 3rd class of the '2025 Seoul Biohub-Open Innovation Program' held on the 29th at the Celltrion Global Biotechnology Research Center in Songdo, Incheon, Su Young Lee, Head of New Drug Research at Celltrion (from left in the photo), Ki Sung Kwon, Head of Research and Development at Celltrion, Cha Ok Seok, CEO of Gallax, Maeng Seop Kim, CEO of MustBio, Dae Seung Lee, CEO of Potray, Sun Woo Hong, Vice President of Therazyn, Han Seop Jung, Director of Advanced Industry at Seoul City, and Hyun Woo Kim, Director of Seoul Biohub, are taking a commemorative photo. Celltrion
Photo by Celltrion

Starting in May, Celltrion conducted an application period of about two months, followed by evaluations by a panel that included external technology assessment experts. This month, the company finalized the selection of four participating companies: MustBio, Therazine, Gallax, and Portray.

This 3rd class includes companies with innovative technologies essential for next-generation drug development: immuno-oncology drugs (MustBio), antibody design (Therazine), AI-driven drug design (Gallax), and a spatial transcriptomics-based pharmacokinetics platform (Portray).

The Open Innovation Program is an initiative in which Celltrion selects and supports biotech startups that possess innovative technologies relevant to Celltrion's new business and research needs. The program aims to help promising startups advance their technologies, while positioning Celltrion as an anchor company contributing to the activation of the bio-ecosystem.

The orientation (OT) for the program, held on this day at the Global Biotechnology Research Center located at Celltrion's headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, was attended by about 20 participants, including representatives from Celltrion, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Biohub, and the selected startups. The event included welcome remarks, a signing ceremony, an introduction to the program, the signing of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and a tour of the research center.

Celltrion has achieved meaningful results through previous rounds of the Open Innovation Program. The 1st class company, Enterobiome, became the first Korean company to win the 2024 KLSAP through the global biocluster competition program provided by Celltrion, and successfully attracted an investment of over 10 billion won. The 2nd class company, Biomee, is also accelerating its new drug development efforts based on a joint research and equity investment agreement with Celltrion.

A Celltrion representative stated, "The companies selected for this 3rd class possess high growth potential based on their innovative technological capabilities. Celltrion will provide systematic support to help these companies, which have been chosen as potential technology suppliers, achieve their goals and will continue to drive the sustainable growth of the bio-ecosystem."

Meanwhile, since 2020, Celltrion has participated as a private operator in the Incheon Startup Park development project and is also involved in the K-Bio Lab Hub establishment project, actively working to discover and nurture promising companies through its open innovation strategy.