Ministry of SMEs and Startups Selects Incheon Songdo as Candidate Site for 'K-Bio Lab Hub' Development

High Ratings for Excellent Location Environment and Expandability

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 9th that 'Incheon Songdo' has been selected as the site for the K-Bio Lab Hub. Photo by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Incheon Songdo has been selected as the site for establishing the K-Bio Lab Hub, which aims to nurture a Korean-style Moderna.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 9th that ‘Incheon Songdo’ was chosen as the location for the K-Bio Lab Hub.

The K-Bio Lab Hub is a bio startup support institution modeled after LabCentral, a renowned bio startup support organization in Boston, USA, famous for producing the global pharmaceutical company Moderna.

The Ministry plans to build infrastructure that supports startup companies in the bio sector, which requires high technology such as infectious disease diagnosis and new drug development, enabling them to conduct experiments, research, and clinical trials.

As the importance of the bio industry and new drug and vaccine technologies grew amid the spread of COVID-19 last year, the government has been promoting the establishment of infrastructure that allows domestic bio startups to grow rapidly.

Earlier in May, a total of 11 local governments applied for the K-Bio Lab Hub site. After document and on-site evaluations, the Ministry shortlisted five regions for the presentation evaluation: Gyeongnam, Daejeon, Incheon, Jeonnam, and Chungbuk. Incheon Songdo was selected as the final candidate through the presentation evaluation held that day.

Incheon Songdo, selected as the candidate site, was evaluated as suitable for the K-Bio Lab Hub due to its collaboration network among industry, academia, research, and hospitals, including leading domestic bio anchor companies such as Samsung Biologics and Celltrion, as well as Songdo Severance Hospital. Additionally, the business plan received high scores for offering free land and strong financial support plans.

Kim Hee-chan, chairman of the selection evaluation committee and professor at Seoul National University Hospital, explained, “We focused on finding a place that can succeed like LabCentral in the U.S. and is suitable for building a cooperative ecosystem among universities, hospitals, and bio companies necessary for the growth of bio startups. As a result of the evaluation, Incheon Songdo was selected.”

Kang Sung-chun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “The K-Bio Lab Hub is not only for the region where it is established but a specialized support institution that all bio startups in Korea can use. We will operate it as a space where bio startups and institutions from various regions can collaborate on research, striving to become a cradle that produces ‘bio unicorns.’”

The K-Bio Lab Hub plans to apply for a preliminary feasibility study in the second half of this year, and if the business plan passes, construction will begin in 2023, with full operation starting in 2025. The government will invest a total of 250 billion KRW in national funds.

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