▲ Yonsei University International Campus in Songdo International City
A ground-breaking ceremony has been held for the K-Bio Lab Hub, designed to provide comprehensive support for bio venture companies, at the Yonsei University International Campus in Songdo International City, Incheon.
Modeled after LabCentral, a bio venture support organization in Boston, USA, the K-Bio Lab Hub was established to foster the growth of startup companies in this field.
Targeted for completion in November 2028, 60 bio-innovation startups will move in upon its completion.
To achieve this, Yonsei University will establish the foundation for research and industry-academia cooperation, while Incheon Metropolitan City will cover construction costs to build cutting-edge facilities for bio venture startups.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), which oversees the project, plans to help early-stage startups with technology development and growth through operating the project team, establishing core research equipment, and providing budget support for research and development (R&D) programs.
The Ministry also plans to prioritize introducing 24 units of 17 types of general-purpose research equipment required by companies into temporary spaces at Yonsei University's International Campus by next month, and establish a total of 134 units across 59 types in line with the building's completion.
In addition, starting in 2029, it plans to operate six specialized programs, including R&D speed-up and bottleneck technology solutions, providing 41.4 billion won to 60 companies.
The Ministry expects to form an organic network by linking with the regional bio-cluster infrastructure, including Celltrion, Samsung Biologics, SK bioscience, Lotte Biologics, and Yonsei Severance Hospital.
Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae stated, "Taking the lab hub ground-breaking as an opportunity, we will add startup creation and new drug development to Incheon's bio-manufacturing foundation to increase quality jobs," adding, "We will also actively pursue the establishment of the Incheon Institute of Bio-Science and Technology to foster advanced research talent and core technologies."
(Photo provided by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, Yonhap News)
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