The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as MSS) announced that 24 ultra-gap startups in the bio field supported by the MSS will participate in the 'BIO KOREA 2025 International Convention (hereinafter referred to as Bio Korea)' held at COEX in Seoul from the 7th to the 9th to share the latest trends and information in the bio and health industry and create new business opportunities between domestic and foreign companies.
Bio Korea is Korea's representative bio and health international convention event that promotes technology exchange, exhibitions, networking, and business partnering between global bio companies and investors. Hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Chungcheongbuk-do, it is attended by approximately 200 domestic and international bio companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.
In particular, 24 bio super-gap startups, including Pricklina Co., Ltd. in the pharmaceutical and material field and Cellames Co., Ltd. in the medical device field, which possess the highest level of technology in Korea, participated in this event, attracting the attention of global pharmaceutical companies and domestic and foreign investment organizations.
The 'Super Gap Startup 1000+ Project' is a project where the Ministry of SMEs and Startups selects startups with advanced technologies in 10 super gap fields, such as bio and health, that will lead the future of the national economy, and provides concentrated policy tools to lay the foundation for global expansion.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is directly supporting 118 ultra-gap startups in the bio and health fields ('23~present) selected through this project with up to 600 million won in technology commercialization funds for 3 years, up to 500 million won in R&D funds for 2 years, and 1 billion won in scale-up funds for 2 years, and is fostering them by linking them with policy funds, guarantees, export vouchers, etc.
The bio super gap startups participating in this Bio Korea will participate in various side events such as ▲Super Gap Joint Exhibition Hall ▲Korea-Saudi Collaborative Workshop ▲Korea-Australia Clinical Seminar ▲Alternative Test Commercialization Technology Conference ▲Invest Fair IR, and the main contents are as follows.
◆ Joint exhibition hall operation (5.7~5.9)
The Super Gap Startup Joint Exhibition Hall will exhibit prototypes and research results of innovative bio/health startups, such as mRNA-based vaccines, stem cell-based cell therapy, and AI-based new drug candidates.
Additionally, during the exhibition period, a global mentoring group comprised of legal, investment, and local market experts will provide on-site consultations on establishing overseas corporations, technology transfer, and attracting investment to support the global expansion of ultra-gap startups.
◆ Korea-Saudi Collaboration Workshop (5.7)
A total of 150 people, including Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, major local pharmaceutical companies, and promising domestic bio startup executives, will attend the workshop. The workshop will begin with an opening remark by Lim Jeong-wook, Director of the Venture Innovation Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, followed by an introduction by Bader H. Alfaqih, Director of Medical Biotech at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment, of the ‘Saudi Biotechnology Vision 2030 Promotion Strategy’ and a discussion on collaboration between promising Korean and Saudi bio technologies.
In particular, at the request of the Saudi Ministry of Investment, we will actively discuss collaboration measures such as technology transfer, investment attraction, and local advancement with ultra-gap startups with manufacturing, plant, and production capabilities for biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars.
Afterwards, IR of promising pharmaceutical and bio companies from both countries, such as Galaxy Co., Ltd., and individual partnering between pre-matched ultra-gap companies and Saudi institutions will be carried out.
◆ Korea-Australia Clinical Seminar (5.8)
The Korea-Australia Clinical Trial Seminar, co-hosted by the Australian governments of Victoria and New South Wales and the Australian Trade and Investment Office, will feature Australian clinical trial specialists introducing Australia’s clinical trial capabilities to promising bio startups, including eight ultra-gap startups, and providing clinical strategy consultations for local advancement, such as R&D tax benefits, and CRO and CDMO partnering for each company.
◆ Alternative Test Commercialization Technology Conference (5.9)
A conference will be held under the theme of 'Development of Alternative Toxicity Assessment Solutions for Entry into the Global Bio-Health Market', and promising bio companies such as Curibio will present global advancement cases and strategies for alternative experimental technologies such as in vitro organ-mimetic organoids and artificial intelligence-based predictive toxicity assessment models, which are attracting new attention due to the strengthening of ethical and legal regulations on animal testing.
In particular, Cellames Co., Ltd. will present cytotoxicity evaluation through impedance and local field potential analysis and application cases of alternative animal testing methods, while Pricklina Co., Ltd. will present alternative testing platform technology based on humanized mice.
◆ Invest Fair IR (5.7~5.8)
The official side program will be held under the theme of 'Investment Strategies for Sustainable Growth in the Global Bio Market', and 10 ultra-gap startups, including SML Biopharm and ApitBio, will conduct IR for global investment institutions such as SD&K Holdings of the UK and CBC Group of Singapore.
Lim Jeong-wook, Director of the Startup Venture Innovation Office, said, “As external uncertainties such as the recent supply chain reorganization due to the U.S. protectionism and tariffs increase, it is time for the government and companies to cooperate to strategically pursue global expansion.” He added, “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also actively support the global scale-up of startups in the biohealth field by continuously promoting the advancement of biotechnology through convergence with other new industries such as AI and global collaboration with foreign organizations, companies, and VCs.”
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