Gangwon-do and Chuncheon-si Collaborate to Attract 'K-Bio Lab Hub' Candidate Site

All-Out Effort to Attract Local Communities Including Industry-Academia-Research-Hospitals... Candidate Sites to Be Confirmed in July

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-chul] Gangwon Province and Chuncheon City have joined forces to attract the candidate site for the 'K-Bio Lab Hub' construction project.

According to Gangwon Province on the 23rd, the 'K-Bio Lab Hub Construction Project' aims to comprehensively support bio startup companies engaged in new drug development by providing facilities and equipment necessary for experiments, research, clinical trials, and prototype production, as well as industry-academia-research-hospital collaboration, all within one space.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced a public contest for the 'K-Bio Lab Hub Construction Project' in May and plans to support infrastructure construction worth 335 billion KRW (250 billion KRW from the national government and 85 billion KRW from local governments).

The project is said to benchmark the case of 'Lab Central,' a bio startup support organization in Boston, USA, famous for producing 'Moderna.'

On the 14th, the province submitted the 'K-Bio Lab Hub Construction' project plan to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and completed an on-site inspection by an evaluation team composed of 10 experts.

During the on-site inspection, the Chuncheon area was evaluated to have the experience and capability to nurture startups and venture companies through a self-driven effort over the past 20 years to establish a support system from clinical to commercialization in fields such as bio new drugs and in vitro diagnostics.

In particular, its accessibility within one hour from the metropolitan area, optimal living conditions, and the industry-academia-research-hospital collaboration model in the bio sector attracted attention.

Chuncheon City proposed 36,847㎡ within the Hupyeong General Industrial Complex as the candidate site and informed the inspection team of plans to provide additional land for future expansion.

Gangwon Province emphasized the importance of regional innovation growth and national balanced development as a region suitable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the post-COVID-19 era.

It also highlighted the need to resolve investment imbalances for startups and venture companies in Gangwon Province by establishing the 'K-Bio Lab Hub' in Chuncheon.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to complete on-site evaluations of 11 candidate sites by the end of this month, select one candidate site by July, and finalize the lab hub space by 2024 after a preliminary feasibility study.

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