Incheon Startup Park, Recruiting Companies for Bio Nurturing Program Participation

Songdo Tomorrow City, where Incheon Startup Park is being developed
[Photo by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority and Incheon Technopark are recruiting companies to participate in the bio sector development program of the Incheon Startup Park, which will officially open at the end of this year, until the 10th of this month.

The recruitment target is the bio sector among the four specialized fields of the Incheon Startup Park Scale-Up Challenge Lab project.

The Scale-Up Challenge Lab project supports startups in Incheon related to four specialized industrial sectors: ▲Bio ▲Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI) ▲Global Expansion ▲Smart City. Universities and institutions in these fields collaborate to nurture and support startups by assisting with validation, investment, and global market entry.

Participating universities by sector include Inha University (Bio), Sejong University (Big Data & AI), Yonsei University (Global Expansion), and Incheon National University (Smart City).

Applicants must be bio or healthcare-related startups located in Incheon with less than seven years of business experience. Companies planning to move into Incheon Startup Park will be given preference. Interested companies can submit their application forms and business plans through the Incheon Startup Park website.

The evaluation committee will select supported companies through a two-stage process: first, a document review assessing potential capabilities, growth strategies, commercialization feasibility, and proposal plans; second, a presentation evaluation.

Selected companies will receive support for validation consulting costs up to 20 million KRW or KGMP (Korean Good Manufacturing Practice) consulting costs worth 10 million KRW.

The validation consulting is a program linked with the Validation Evaluation Center of the Gastroenterology Department at Inha University Hospital, providing diagnostic and evaluation consulting related to efficacy and safety for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical software, and health functional foods requested by supported companies, including non-clinical (animal) test results.

Additionally, KGMP consulting is a program where supported companies establish partnerships with Inha University or Inha University Hospital to receive prototype development consulting for efficacy-related requests, as well as consulting for establishing approval plans with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and efficacy and safety evaluation consulting during prototype development (operated by an advisory group).

Furthermore, selected companies will have opportunities to participate in future Incheon Startup Park validation programs and bio-related projects conducted by Celltrion, Inha University, and others.

Meanwhile, Incheon Startup Park, located in Tomorrow City in Songdo International City, is a startup cluster space where entrepreneurs, investors, universities, and research institutions network in an open environment through public-private collaboration.

It consists of Startup Tower I, which operates private-sector-led development programs and serves as a space for startups and ventures to exchange ideas and conduct research; Startup Tower II, which provides programs for companies and institutions to foster public-led innovative ideas; and Healing Tower, which offers convenience facilities and collaborative shared spaces.

The Startup Park project, actively promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, aims to establish an open innovation startup hub similar to Silicon Valley in the USA, Zhongguancun in China, and Station F in France.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.