Johns Hopkins University, a world-leading medical and bio research-centered university, will host the “Johns Hopkins Global Biotechnology Innovation Summit” in Incheon Songdo on Dec. 4.
This summit is an invitation-only global bio innovation event, where leaders from universities, research institutions, industry, and investment organizations representing Korea and the United States will gather to discuss biotechnology industrialization and global cooperation strategies.
The summit is expected to see massive participation from representatives of the bio innovation ecosystem, including faculty from major Korean and U.S. universities such as Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and Cambridge University, as well as heads of national research institutes, executives from global pharmaceutical and bio companies, and venture capital (VC) investors.
The event is co-organized by major domestic industry-academia-research-industry institutions, with Johns Hopkins University at the center, along with Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ), Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), Yonsei University, University of Incheon, Pohang University of Science and Technology, National Cancer Center, Korea Biopharmaceutical Industry Association (KoBIA), and K-BioLabHub.
The event will intensively address key agenda items leading the next-generation bio industry, including organoids and microphysiological systems (MPS), AI-based drug development, precision medicine and translational research, bio manufacturing and industrialization strategies, global industry-academia-research cooperation models, and bio startups and investment ecosystems.
Particularly, global companies Samsung Biologics, Dream CIS, and CuriBio will participate as invited speakers to introduce new organoid-based CRO services, with practical cases expected to be presented regarding industrial expansion of research outcomes and bio commercialization strategies.
Additionally, Celltrion plans to share drug development directions and open R&D models through cooperation with the global academic community and innovative companies by announcing their Open Innovation-based research and development (R&D) strategy.
Won-sok Yun, director of Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, stated, “This event will be an important turning point for Songdo’s leap forward as a global bio innovation hub,” adding, “Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority will actively support the creation of a bio industry ecosystem that connects from research and development to industrialization and global expansion through cooperation with world-class research institutions, global companies, and industry associations.”
Kim Deok-ho, professor of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (sirector of the Global Biotechnology Innovation Center establishment research institute), said, “This summit is a practical cooperation platform that goes beyond simple academic exchange, actually connecting biotechnology to industry and global markets,” adding, “I expect Korea-U.S. bio cooperation centered on Songdo to establish itself as a new global innovation model.”