CHA Biotech said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Yonsei Biohealth Technology Holdings to jointly identify and nurture biohealth startups, as the company prepares to open a bio open innovation hub in Pangyo.
CHA Biotech CEO Cha Won-tae (left) and Yonsei University Biohealth Technology Holdings CEO Song Young-goo pose after signing an MOU to support biohealth startups at CHA Biotech’s headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. (Credit: CHA Biotech)
The agreement aims to build a cooperation framework that links promising biohealth companies from early research and development to clinical development, manufacturing and global market entry.
Under the MOU, the two sides plan to develop a phased cooperation model covering technology commercialization, joint startup support programs and expansion of global networks. They also aim to accelerate the clustering of bio startups around Pangyo Second Techno Valley.
The cooperation will include joint technology commercialization tracks, customized accelerating programs by company growth stage, jointly hosted global partnering days and programs connecting Korean startups with overseas innovation clusters.
CHA Biotech is building the Cell Gene Bioplatform (CGB) in Pangyo Second Techno Valley and plans to establish the K-Bio-CIC Open Innovation Center as a global bio open innovation hub within the facility.
The company plans to allocate 10,000 square meters, or about 3,000 pyeong, of the 66,115-square-meter CGB facility to K-Bio CIC, with operations scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026.
K-Bio CIC will adopt a model based on Cambridge Innovation Center, a U.S.-based operator of global innovation platforms. CHA Biotech said the center will go beyond providing space and facilities by offering differentiated services using the company’s large-scale cell library, cell and gene therapy R&D capabilities, global manufacturing network spanning the U.S., Korea and Japan, and access to clinical development resources.
Yonsei Biohealth Technology Holdings plans to use the partnership to identify startups with strong growth potential based on research achievements and promising biohealth technologies from Yonsei University and Yonsei University Health System. The company also plans to strengthen support for startup growth by linking technology commercialization, investment and business development capabilities.
“The global drug development paradigm is rapidly shifting toward open innovation based on strategic collaboration from the early R&D stage,” CHA Biotech CEO Cha Won-tae said. “We will develop CGB-CIC into Asia’s leading bio open innovation hub and a global gateway for Korea’s bio startups.”
Song Young-goo, CEO of Yonsei Biohealth Technology Holdings, also said, “Successful technology commercialization in the biohealth sector requires not only strong research results but also connections to clinical development, manufacturing, investment and global networks.”
Through this agreement, the holdings will connect the research achievements and clinical expertise of Yonsei University and Yonsei University Health System, the technology commercialization and investment capabilities of Yonsei Biohealth Technology Holdings, and CHA Biotech’s CGT R&D, manufacturing and global network to expand growth opportunities for university technology-based biohealth startups, Song added.
Lee Han-soo
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