Three years ago, South Korean startup K2B Therapeutics launched operations in Boston, a global hub for biotechnology firms. K2B Therapeutics specializes in small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology for cancer treatment. Initially developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) five years ago, this technology uses short RNA strands to inhibit specific gene functions, effectively suppressing diseases such as cancer.
K2B Therapeutics aims to revolutionize cancer treatment by developing and commercializing anti-cancer drugs based on its siRNA technology.
“We have been holding meetings with pharmaceutical giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Roche and Eli Lilly,” said K2B Therapeutics CEO Jay Kim. In a recent interview with ChosunBiz, he mentioned the pivotal role of Hongneung Innopolis, a biomedical industrial complex in Seoul, in paving the way for fledgling biotech startups such as K2B Therapeutics to expand overseas.
In 2017, the South Korean government designated Hongneung, an area in northern Seoul, as a special district for Korean biotech startups. Hongneung Innopolis, which has bases in nine countries - the U.S., Japan, China, France, Germany, Singapore, Israel, India, and Vietnam - has since served as a launchpad for Korean biotech startups expanding overseas.
Hongneung Innopolis has established strategic partnerships with Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), an American incubator dubbed the “community of entrepreneurs,” American academic medical center Mayo Clinic, and French biomedical engineering cluster Medicine.
“Bio healthcare companies have a higher need for international expansion,” said Kang Dae-shin, head of Hongneung Innopolis’ planning office. “Hongneung Innopolis is also working with other special economic zones in Korea to develop programs to support these companies’ expansion abroad.”
The cluster also helps foreign companies settle in Korea. Ingenia Therapeutics, a biotech startup based in Watertown, Massachusetts, is setting up a Korean subsidiary and research center in Hongneung this month. Ingenia is developing a therapeutic antibody candidate to treat multiple diseases, including cancer and inflammatory diseases. The startup is also preparing for a listing on the Korean stock exchange.
Biot Korea founder Jang Young-jun returned to Korea from the U.S. Biot Korea is developing the Magnectio platform, a stem cell navigator that delivers therapeutic agents to the affected part of the patient’s body. The company plans to conduct clinical trials with the Korea University Cancer Hospital in Hongneung Innopolis.
“Hongneung Innopolis has fostered a successful ecosystem where hospitals, research institutes, and companies work together,” Jang said.
