Seoul teams up with Celltrion, Daewon Pharmaceutical to nurture biotech startups

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it is stepping up open innovation support with leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies Celltrion and Daewon Pharmaceutical to develop promising biotech startups in Seoul into potential global unicorns.

The city signed MOUs on June 10 and June 12 with Celltrion and Daewon Pharmaceutical, respectively, alongside the biotech startups selected for this year's open innovation program.

The open innovation initiative is a co-growth model centered on Seoul Bio Hub, the city's core infrastructure for supporting the biotech industry. It drives startup growth by co-developing drug pipelines and innovative technologies that large and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies need, or by facilitating technology transfers between established firms and promising startups.

The city has worked with Celltrion since 2023 and Daewon Pharmaceutical since 2024 to identify and nurture innovative startups, producing tangible results beyond simple technology validation — including global market entries and large-scale investment deals.

Enterobiome, the first Celltrion cohort, became the first Korean company to win the global biotech cluster competition KLSAP and went on to secure more than 10 billion won (about $6.59 million) in investment. Biome, the second cohort, signed an equity investment agreement with Celltrion for the joint development of a microbiome-based new drug.

Enparticle, the first Daewon Pharmaceutical cohort, secured approximately 4.5 billion won in Series A funding from investors including KB Investment after joining the open innovation program, demonstrating the initiative's real-world scale-up impact.

Four promising startups — Ainbi, Enbiocell, Imitascience and Podo Therapeutics — were selected for the fourth Celltrion cohort through expert panel evaluation. The companies hold next-generation biotech and medical technologies including AI-based protein antibody development and organoids.

The third Daewon Pharmaceutical cohort selected two startups — Omniamed and Curiosa Bioscience — with innovative drug delivery technologies.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Bio Hub, Celltrion, Daewon Pharmaceutical and the selected startups will begin a full year of joint research and tailored growth package support.

Drawing on years of global pharmaceutical development experience and industry insight, Celltrion and Daewon Pharmaceutical will provide the selected startups with comprehensive, customized scale-up packages covering proof-of-concept testing, joint R&D review, and development and commercialization strategy refinement.

The city said it aims to go beyond one-off matchmaking by combining the private infrastructure of anchor companies with Seoul Bio Hub's public incubation capabilities, maximizing the city's biotech development momentum.

"The open innovation program at Seoul Bio Hub serves as a ladder for startups to gain the experience and networks of global anchor companies, and as a platform for large corporations to secure innovative technologies — a win-win for all," said Lee Su-yeon, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Economy Bureau.