Seoul National University Hospital consortium unveils 13 biohealth technologies

Seoul National University Hospital joined forces with Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Gangwon National University and Kyungpook National University to present 13 promising biohealth technologies and discuss licensing and commercialization prospects with industry partners.

Seoul National University Hospital announced Tuesday that it held a joint technology briefing among the four institutions on Sept. 22 as part of the "Biohealth Clinical Field-Linked Technology Commercialization Platform Support Project," funded by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. The briefing was organized to introduce research outcomes from hospitals and universities to companies and explore pathways to technology transfer and commercialization.

The 13 technologies presented included five oral presentations and eight exhibition displays. As a collaborative highlight, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Kyungpook National University and Gangwon National University jointly showcased their respective hydrogel technologies, noting that combining the three could enable the development of next-generation multifunctional hydrogels. Hydrogel is a water-retaining polymer material with physical properties similar to human tissue, making it suitable for tissue regeneration, drug delivery and wound treatment. Bundang Seoul National University Hospital contributed ocular injectable drug delivery, Kyungpook National University focused on crosslinker-free mass production, and Gangwon National University addressed antimicrobial regeneration.

Seoul National University Hospital presented a coacervate-based drug delivery platform. Coacervates are microscopic liquid droplets formed when oppositely charged polymers aggregate in water, serving as carriers for drug molecules. The platform demonstrated superior encapsulation efficiency, adhesion and protein protection compared with conventional collagen sponge technology, while reducing off-target side effects.

Bundang Seoul National University Hospital introduced a brain-vessel-brain tumor organoid assembly and its manufacturing technology. By preserving the phenotype of patient-derived tumors, the system can serve as a platform for brain tumor research and anticancer drug screening.

In the liver disease field, Kyungpook National University presented a diagnostic biomarker composition that uses expression data from the Lrg1 protein or its encoding gene to identify liver disease. The technology can also serve as a therapeutic screening platform for selecting candidate compounds with potential to suppress liver disease.

Gangwon National University showcased a long-acting drug delivery platform built on a structure in which hydrogel and oleogel are combined without macroscopic separation. The platform can simultaneously carry both hydrophilic drugs that dissolve in water and lipophilic drugs that dissolve in oil.

Beyond the technology presentations, the event facilitated direct connections between companies and researchers. A total of 20 one-on-one business meetings were held with seven companies, giving researchers the opportunity to introduce their technologies and discuss licensing and commercialization potential, while also exploring follow-up collaboration to match corporate needs with research outcomes. A strategy seminar was also held to introduce the business support programs of Seoul National University Hospital and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, as well as their domestic medical device education initiatives.

Vice President for Research Kwon Sung-geun of Seoul National University Hospital said the hospital, as the consortium's lead institution, would "continue to actively support clinical field-linked technology commercialization so that outstanding biohealth research outcomes can grow sustainably through industry-academia-research-hospital collaboration with partner institutions such as Gangwon National University and Kyungpook National University."