Celltrion Leading 'Bio Ecosystem Creation'... Supporting Santneer, Biomi, and Livium Three Companies

Celltrion announced on the 1st that it has selected the second batch of participating companies for the ‘2024 Seoul Bio Hub - Open Innovation Program’ to create a virtuous cycle bio-ecosystem and has begun full-scale activities.

Lee Soo-young, Vice President of New Drug Research Headquarters at Celltrion R&D Division; Kwon Ki-sung, Head of Celltrion R&D Division (Senior Vice President); Song Ji-yoon, CEO of Livbiome; Yoon Sang-sun, CEO of Biomi; Yang Ki-hyuk, CEO of Santeur Bio; Choi Pan-gyu, Director of Creative Industry Planning at Seoul Metropolitan Government; Park Seo-young, Director of Advanced Industry Division at Seoul Metropolitan Government; Kim Hyun-woo, Director of Seoul Bio Hub (from left), are posing for a commemorative photo on the 1st at the Celltrion Global Biotechnology Research Center in Songdo, Incheon, during the orientation of the 2nd term of the '2024 Seoul Bio Hub - Open Innovation Program'.
[Photo by Celltrion]

After a recent evaluation by a judging panel including external technology evaluators, Celltrion selected three companies?SainteNair Biosciences, Biomi, and Livium?as participating companies. SainteNair Biosciences possesses the antibody platform ‘Twin Fc-Ice,’ which improves the efficacy of existing anticancer antibody therapeutics. Biomi and Livium are microbiome therapeutic development companies focusing on developing treatments for antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases and microbial gene therapies, respectively.

The Open Innovation Program is a project that selects and supports bio and medical startup companies possessing innovative technologies related to Celltrion’s new business and research technology demands. Celltrion provides the selected companies with the Celltrion Golden Ticket, offering a customized startup nurturing program, residency rights and rent at Seoul Bio Hub, and opportunities for global expansion such as access to global bio clusters.

Previously, Celltrion provided guidance through company-specific diagnostics for the first batch of selected companies, conducted business development (BD) consulting such as development strategy advancement, and facilitated venture capital (VC) linked investment networking. These companies achieved results such as attracting new investments and participating in global cluster events, and they continue to communicate with Celltrion while residing at the Seoul Bio Hub Global Center in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, seeking synergy by strengthening new drug development capabilities.

On the same day, Celltrion also held an orientation (OT) for the bio startups selected for the Open Innovation Program at its Global Biotechnology Research Center headquarters in Songdo, Incheon. The event was attended by key stakeholders including representatives from Celltrion, Seoul Bio Hub, Seoul Metropolitan Government, the accelerator (AC) company Must Accelerator, and the three selected bio startup CEOs. Celltrion, Seoul Bio Hub, and the selected startups signed a tripartite agreement and also executed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

A Celltrion official stated, “As with the first batch, many startups applied this time as well, showing high interest and expectations for Celltrion’s open innovation,” and added, “We will continue systematic support so that the selected companies can grow one step further and achieve their targeted results.”

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