Korea Development Bank to Invest 200 Billion Won by 2025 in Infectious Disease Response Companies
Korea Development Bank Holds Post-Corona Plan Operations Meeting
Aiming for Timely Investment by Financial Institutions and Creation of an 'Infectious Disease Specialized' Innovation Ecosystem
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 24th, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) announced that it held an online 'Post-COVID Plan' steering committee meeting attended by more than 20 experts from academia, medical fields, bio companies, and venture capital.
The meeting emphasized the importance of securing response technologies related to infectious diseases with significant socio-economic impact, such as the spread of COVID-19, and aimed to discover excellent companies and promote timely investment to accelerate technology development in treatment, vaccine, and diagnostics at the private sector level, while also seeking multidisciplinary cooperation.
Lee Dong-geol, Chairman of KDB, stated in his congratulatory remarks, “From SARS in 2004 to COVID-19 in 2019, the threat of infectious diseases continues. We plan to focus our investment capabilities on outstanding bio companies in the infectious disease sector to contribute to infectious disease response and actively support the cultivation of new growth engines for the Korean economy in the post-COVID era.”
At the meeting, a wide range of topics were discussed, including prediction and response to infectious diseases, trends in diagnostics and therapeutic development in the bio industry, and KDB’s investment directions related to infectious diseases.
Infectious diseases were the second bio open innovation theme for KDB following Alzheimer’s disease last year. Through this year’s Post-COVID Plan, KDB is investing a total of approximately 20 billion KRW in four bio companies in the infectious disease sector. KDB plans to invest a total of 200 billion KRW in infectious disease response companies by 2025.
Hot Picks Today
"Buy on Black Monday"... Japan's Nomura Forecasts 590,000 for Samsung, 4 Million for SK hynix
- "Plunged During the War, Now Surging Again"... The Real Reason Behind the 6% One-Day Silver Market Rally [Weekend Money]
- "Not Everyone Can Afford This: Inside the World of the True Top 0.1% [Luxury World]"
- "We're Now Earning 10 Million Won a Month"... Semiconductor Boom Drives Performance Bonuses at Major Electronic Component Firms
- Experts Are Already Watching Closely..."Target Stock Price 970,000 Won" Now Only the Uptrend Remains [Weekend Money]
Last year, through the Alzheimer’s open innovation, KDB invested a total of 34 billion KRW in seven companies developing diagnostics and therapeutics in the degenerative neurological disease field. KDB stated that it will continue to play a pioneering role to promote technology development and foster an innovation ecosystem specialized in the infectious disease field, which is an unmet medical need area with sluggish development and investment due to prediction difficulties.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
