'MOU 4 Deals' Minister Lee Young Discusses Cluster Innovation in Boston

World's Leading Bio and Robot Cluster Boston
Discussion on Success Factors and Innovation Strategies of Boston Cluster
Four MOUs Signed Including with Moderna

Lee Young, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, attended the ‘Korea-US Cluster Round Table’ held in Boston, USA on the 28th (local time) and discussed the success factors and innovation plans of the Boston cluster with Korea-US cluster experts. Four MOUs were also signed as related events. Boston, home to the world’s top bio and robotics clusters, hosts over 1,000 global biotech companies and features close collaboration among industry, academia, research institutes, and hospitals such as Harvard, MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups attended the 'Korea-US Cluster Round Table' held in Boston, USA, on the 28th (local time) and took a commemorative photo after signing the MOU. From the front row, left to right: Johannes Praehaupt, CEO of LabCentral; David Brown, Director of Massachusetts General Hospital; Lee Young, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Lee In-sil, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office; Kim Seong-hoon, President of the Korean American Patent Attorneys Association; from the back row, left to right: Lee Jae-hong, President of the Small and Medium Business Technology Information Promotion Agency; Arpa Garay, Executive at Moderna; Lee Kwang-hyung, President of KAIST; Son Yong-wook, Executive Vice President of the Korea Invention Promotion Association; Kim Yong-sun, President of the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency.
(Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

The event was attended by key members of the Boston cluster, including Dave Brown, Director of MGH, and Johannes Fruehauf, CEO of LabCentral, a bio startup incubation specialist. Representatives from global companies such as Moderna and Boston Dynamics, the Vice Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, Korean company representatives operating in the Boston cluster, the President of the Boston Intellectual Property Law Association, the President of the Korean American Patent Attorneys Association, as well as experts in law, patents, finance, and investment from McKinsey and Bain Capital also participated.

The round table began with a keynote presentation on “Global Cluster Innovation Strategy” by Jeff Smith, Partner at McKinsey. Various discussions followed on cluster innovation plans, including the role of venture and startup innovation hubs within clusters and the role of professional service firms in law and patents. Related events included MOU signing ceremonies, startup investment consultations, local market entry consultations, and intellectual property consultations. Four MOUs were signed: △ LabCentral-K-Bio Lab Hub △ MGH-KAIST collaboration △ Moderna-KAIST workforce training △ Korean American Patent Attorneys Association-Korea Invention Promotion Association-Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency.

Minister Lee Young said, “Through this round table, we were able to deeply understand the operating mechanisms and management experiences of global innovation clusters on site,” adding, “It was a valuable opportunity to seriously discuss cooperation plans between Korean and US clusters.”

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