Daewon Pharmaceutical and Seoul Bio Hub Launch Initiative to Discover Bio Startups

From Core Therapeutic Areas Like Metabolic Diseases
to Next-Generation Platform Technologies:
Comprehensive Search for Innovation

Daewon Pharmaceutical announced on April 13 that, together with Seoul Bio Hub—a bio and medical innovation platform in Seoul jointly operated by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Korea University—it is recruiting promising pharmaceutical and biotechnology startups to participate in the "2026 Seoul Bio Hub-Daewon Pharmaceutical Open Innovation Program."

Now in its third year, this program is characterized by the combination of Seoul’s startup infrastructure and Daewon Pharmaceutical’s unique expertise. The goal is to identify startups with innovative technologies that can be linked to Daewon Pharmaceutical’s R&D needs, providing them with practical opportunities for collaboration and joint nurturing.

Daewon Pharmaceutical not only boasts industry-leading capabilities in the development of improved new drugs, but also holds a strong sales network and market share in the fields of chronic diseases such as respiratory and circulatory disorders. This commercialization know-how is expected to offer a meaningful breakthrough for startups that possess technological strength but face difficulties entering the market.

Daewon Pharmaceutical, in collaboration with Seoul Bio Hub, is recruiting promising pharmaceutical and bio startups to participate in the '2026 Seoul Bio Hub-Daewon Pharmaceutical Open Innovation Program.' Daewon Pharmaceutical

This program goes beyond simple corporate matching by providing close consulting and a robust research collaboration system over a one-year partnership period. Selected companies will have the opportunity to interact with Daewon Pharmaceutical’s R&D experts and conduct Proof of Concept (PoC) work, with tailored mentoring provided throughout the year to solve technical and business challenges encountered during this process.

In particular, this year’s program targets startups with technologies at the PoC or preclinical stage as primary collaboration partners. Due to the nature of open innovation cooperation, there is a high likelihood of conducting joint R&D with companies that possess early-stage research technologies, and long-term partnerships involving technology transfer or joint pipeline development are also anticipated.

In fact, last year, Daewon Pharmaceutical signed a new drug development AI modeling research contract with Atomatrix (developer of an AI and molecular dynamics-based integrated new drug platform) selected through the program, continuing their research collaboration. In 2024, Daewon Pharmaceutical entered into a joint development and technology transfer contract for new drug development with Fraser Therapeutics, a resident company at Seoul Bio Hub. In the same year, the company signed a joint development, manufacturing, and sales agreement with Unovia for a peptic ulcer treatment that had completed Phase 1 clinical trials, thereby expanding cooperation to the commercialization stage. Over the past five years, Daewon Pharmaceutical has established six such collaborative cases, working to build its open innovation model.

Eligible applicants are pharmaceutical and biotechnology startups that have been established for less than eight years. The program is recruiting in fields that can create synergy with Daewon Pharmaceutical’s business, including metabolic diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, fibrotic diseases, and oncology. In terms of technology categories, the focus is on peptide-based drugs and conjugates (PDC), small molecule-based target protein degradation technologies (TPD), and gene therapy-based ASO and siRNA, among others.

For the two companies finally selected through the review process, comprehensive benefits will be provided through an agreement, including joint research and Proof of Concept (PoC) utilizing Daewon Pharmaceutical’s research infrastructure, global expansion support via professional accelerators, and workspace and rental support at Seoul Bio Hub.

Inhwan Baek, CEO of Daewon Pharmaceutical, stated, "If Daewon Pharmaceutical’s accumulated clinical and manufacturing capabilities are combined with the innovative technologies of startups, we can secure sufficient competitiveness in the global market. In particular, we look forward to applications from companies possessing next-generation technologies such as small molecules, peptides, or drug delivery systems (DDS)."

Hyunwoo Kim, Head of Seoul Bio Hub, remarked, "This partnership will be a decisive opportunity for startups with outstanding technologies to meet a reliable partner like Daewon Pharmaceutical and verify their commercialization potential. Seoul Bio Hub will faithfully fulfill its role as a bridge to help startups achieve growth over the year of collaboration."

Companies wishing to participate in this program can apply via the Seoul Bio Hub website by the 13th, where detailed information and the official announcement are also available.

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