Seongbuk-gu to Open 'Seoul Bio Innovation Community Center' in November... Recruiting 25 Resident Companies

Supporting the Growth of Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Digital Health Startups in Hongneung Linked with 'Seoul Bio Hub'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 2nd that it will open the 'Seoul Bio Innovation Community Center' in Jongam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, this November to further strengthen the bio and medical hub functions in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era.

The Seoul Bio Innovation Community Center will be established as a dedicated space supporting the growth of early-stage startups, alongside the Seoul Bio Hub located on Hoegi-ro in Dongdaemun-gu. While the Seoul Bio Hub offers small-scale individual office spaces, the Innovation Community Center will subdivide office sizes from small to large, securing additional space for tenants and enabling more startups, ACs (Accelerators), VCs (Venture Capitals), and other partner organizations to settle in the Hongneung area.

The private facility, spanning from basement level 2 to the 6th floor with a total floor area of 3,562㎡, will be leased by the city and developed into a space that activates bio startups, including office spaces for startups and partner organizations, shared laboratories, and convergence and collaboration community spaces.

Before the opening of the Innovation Community Center, the city is recruiting 25 startups and partner organizations to move in by the 21st of this month. The recruitment fields for startups include pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and digital health, and applicants must be companies or corporate research institutes established within five years as of the announcement date.

Partner organizations being recruited include those with professional personnel and work experience capable of providing consulting necessary for early-stage bio startups, such as ACs (Accelerators), VCs (Venture Capitals), technology transfer, and startup ecosystem consulting.

Selected startups will not only have access to office spaces, convenience facilities, shared research facilities, and equipment at the Seoul Bio Innovation Community Center but also benefit from various startup support programs offered by Seoul Bio Hub, including specialized bio education, consulting, investment attraction, and global expansion. Additionally, they can receive support from startup programs and R&D projects operated by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. The basic tenancy period is two years, with the possibility of extension up to four years through annual evaluations for companies wishing to continue their residency.

Companies wishing to move in can download the application form and business plan from the Seoul Bio Hub website, complete them, and submit online. Tenant companies will be selected through a three-stage evaluation process consisting of document screening, mentor evaluation, and presentation evaluation, with results announced on October 27.

Meanwhile, in addition to the Seoul Bio Innovation Community Center, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to establish the 'Seoul Bio Industry-Academic Cooperation Center' within this year by leasing the former science building of Kyung Hee University. Recruitment for tenant companies at the Industry-Academic Cooperation Center is expected to take place around October.

The city also plans to further develop the Hongneung area into a world-class bio and medical cluster by additionally establishing facilities such as the 'BT-IT Convergence Center' (completed in April 2021) and the 'Seoul Bio Hub Global Cooperation Building' (completed in April 2022), alongside the Innovation Community Center and Industry-Academic Cooperation Center.

Kim Ui-seung, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Economic Policy Office, said, "Since its opening in 2017, Seoul Bio Hub has achieved results such as attracting about 100 billion KRW in investment and creating over 400 jobs over three years, propelling Hongneung as a bio and medical startup hub. We will open the Seoul Bio Innovation Community Center to discover excellent startups and establish a foundation for their early growth."

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