Daewoong Pharmaceutical Launches 5th Innobear Contest to Find 'Open Innovation' Partners

Recruitment in Nine Fields Including Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, and Digital Healthcare
Applications Accepted Until February 28

On January 9, Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced that it is recruiting for the fifth round of the 'Innobear Contest' to discover promising startups in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare sectors and to foster joint growth. Applications will be accepted until February 28.

Now in its fifth year, the 'Innobear Contest' is Daewoong Pharmaceutical's flagship open innovation program. It aims to identify startups with original technologies and ideas, supporting them through various stages such as startup assistance, technology collaboration, strategic investment, and joint development.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Innobear Contest Poster. Daewoong Pharmaceutical

The contest is open to a total of nine fields: synthetic drugs, AI and platform technology, biopharmaceuticals (antibodies and proteins), gene therapy, cell therapy, organoids, drug delivery systems (DDS), medical devices and healthcare, and companion animal healthcare. The program broadly includes technologies that can create synergy with Daewoong's mid- to long-term R&D strategy.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to give preference to companies that meet the specified technology needs, companies with a history of collaboration with Daewoong Pharmaceutical or Daewoong Group affiliates, and companies located in major R&D hubs such as Daejeon, Gwangju, and Pohang.

For the first time, this year's contest will offer priority occupancy at the Daewoong Magok Research Center, which is scheduled for completion in the first half of the year. Participants will also be eligible for benefits such as linkage to public-private startup support programs like TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) and Scale-Up TIPS, as well as various R&D support and preferential consideration for follow-up projects.

The contest features three application tracks: support for prospective founders and corporate establishment, strategic equity investment and collaboration, and joint research, commercialization validation, and marketing cooperation. Applicants can select one track that best matches their company's growth stage and needs.

The 'Prospective Founder' track prioritizes linkage with the TIPS startup support program to help secure initial funding and establish a foundation for commercialization. The 'Strategic Equity Investment' track provides real investment opportunities, supporting stable growth based on a win-win strategy through collaboration with Daewoong Pharmaceutical.

The 'Joint Development' track, separate from equity investment, allows for collaboration throughout the entire cycle, from joint research and proof of concept (PoC) to commercialization, marketing cooperation, and sales contracts. In fact, companies selected for the joint development track last year are currently conducting PoC research with Daewoong Pharmaceutical, further realizing their commercialization potential. For more details about the Innobear Contest, please refer to the official Daewoong Pharmaceutical website and the contest poster.

Park Sungsoo, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, stated, "The Innobear Contest is more than just an investment program; our goal is to build an open innovation ecosystem where startups and Daewoong Pharmaceutical grow together. In particular, by linking with the Magok Research Center infrastructure, which will be completed in the first half of the year, we will provide an environment where our partners can focus on R&D, and by collaborating with companies in key R&D hub regions, we aim to lead innovation in the future of healthcare."