Korea’s First Private-Led New Drug Cluster to Launch in Late September

South Korea’s CRO firm Woojung Bio planned on launching the first private-led new drug cluster in Korea at the end of September. The goal is to elevate Korean biotech’s ability to develop innovative drugs in the highly competitive market.

Provide R&D Infrastructures and Clinical Consulting Services

As the building will finish construction in late September, the cluster is expected to provide R&D infrastructures, analysis centers, and consulting services from nonclinical trials to clinical trials. Woojung Bio said the private-led cluster is able to work closely with the biotechs and move faster and more flexibly than the government-led cluster.

Partnering Up with Former Deputy Director of the USFDA

Since 2018, Woojung Bio has signed MOUs with 28 companies and institutions for the cluster. A few days ago, the firm penned an MOU with Ahn Bio Consulting, a powerhouse in clinical trials consultation for all stages of drug development and licensing. Its founder Hae Young Ahn is a former and the first Korean deputy director of the USFDA.

Ahn Bio Consulting is able to provide critical regulatory strategies in new medicine, the collaboration will also discover and cultivate domestic bio startups.

Other MOUs Signed

In late August, Woojung Bio struck a deal with Medirama to establish a bio cooperative system. Other than providing clinical consultation, the two firms will work together to eliminate drug candidates that failed to meet the criteria and help biotechs to expand their business to overseas countries.

Moreover, the collaboration will build an animal center and research center in the about-to-established cluster.

Woojung Bio also approached venture capitals, including Daily Partners, Spring Camp, Samho Green Investment, and bio associations such as Korea Biotechnology Association and Korea New Drug Development Research Association to form a more wholesome ecosystem in the cluster.

Author

Tyler Chen

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."- Erma Bombeck