"Preparing for Post-COVID Era" ... Establishment of 'Medical Device Development Support Center' in Seoul G-Valley

Seoul City-Korea Industrial Complex Corporation Invests 4.5 Billion Won Aiming to Open in July Next Year
One-Stop Close Support from R&D to Prototype Production, Clinical Trials, and Approval

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Seoul City announced on the 20th that it will establish a 'Medical Device Development Support Center' in G-Valley, located in Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu, where one-third of the medical device manufacturing companies in Seoul are concentrated, aiming to open it by July next year.

The center will serve as a hub facility within G-Valley that provides one-stop, close support for all stages of medical device technology development and commercialization, from research and development (R&D) to prototype production, clinical trials, and regulatory approval for medical device companies.

Amid the rapid rise of the bio and healthcare industries due to the spread of COVID-19, the city plans to establish infrastructure to nurture small and medium-sized but promising medical device companies and develop G-Valley, which is currently focused on development and production, into a core bio-medical hub that creates synergy with Hongneung, a planning and research-centered area.

Currently, G-Valley houses about 270 companies, accounting for 32.4% of Seoul’s medical device manufacturing firms. It also has concentrated infrastructure such as medical device reporting and certification institutions like the Medical Device Safety Information Center and the Korea Testing Laboratory, making it highly regarded for its growth potential in the bio industry. Since 29.1% of Seoul’s Internet of Things (IoT) companies are also concentrated in this area, the city will fully support convergence with advanced technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen industrial competitiveness.

The G-Valley Medical Device Development Support Center will be established in Complex 1 of G-Valley, Guro-gu, with a dedicated area of approximately 660㎡ (200 pyeong), equipped with corporate support spaces, basic experimental research labs, and technical support rooms. It will comprehensively support ▲ development of smart healthcare devices based on medical big data and AI ▲ medical device design, clinical, and usability (validation) evaluation ▲ development of in vitro diagnostic devices including diagnostics for new infectious diseases such as COVID-19 ▲ technology commercialization (prototype production, step-by-step consulting, regulatory approval, etc.) ▲ and investment attraction.

The Korea Industrial Complex Corporation will purchase the space and provide it to the city free of charge, after which the city will establish the center and entrust its operation to the corporation. To this end, both parties plan to sign a written memorandum of understanding on the 21st for the joint establishment and operation of the 'G-Valley Medical Device Development Support Center.' Seoul City plans to invest a total budget of 5.4 billion KRW over three years from next year through 2023.

Kim Ui-seung, Director of Seoul City’s Economic Policy Office, said, "We will properly build a medical device development ecosystem in G-Valley to create synergy between the industrial hubs where products planned and researched at the Hongneung Bio Cluster are developed and produced in G-Valley."

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