The Taiwan Formosa Group will invest 18 billion won in the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). It plans to establish a bio-medical research center and create a joint venture to commercialize research results.
KAIST noted on the 17th that it has signed an agreement with the Taiwan Formosa Group for collaboration in the bio-medical field.
Sandy Wang (王瑞瑜), an executive director of Formosa Group and a leader in the bio and eco-friendly energy sectors within the group, stated that a bio-medical research center will be established at KAIST, with plans to invest over 18 billion won over five years. This will be set up as a joint venture with KAIST Holdings, a subsidiary of KAIST.
KAIST Holdings, established by the government-affiliated KAIST for investment attraction and business purposes, will collaborate with the Formosa Group to establish a joint venture with a 50-50 equity structure. KAIST Holdings will contribute KAIST's intellectual property, while the Formosa Group will invest corresponding funds.
The KAIST-Formosa joint venture will provide research funding to the soon-to-be-established KAIST-Formosa bio-medical research center and secure the rights to utilize the generated intellectual property to promote various businesses.
The KAIST-Formosa bio-medical research center will establish a "brain organoid bank" created from tissues obtained from hundreds of patients with degenerative brain diseases. Leveraging KAIST's world-class artificial intelligence capabilities, it plans to analyze large-scale patient data to identify the causes of aging and diseases. The center has set a goal to develop treatments for over 10 intractable brain diseases by 2030, aiming to expand into more than 20 businesses.
Taiwan Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, which sees 35,000 patients daily, will participate in this project. The hospital will differentiate tissues from patients with degenerative brain diseases and send them to the KAIST-Formosa bio-medical research center, where the center will create them into brain organoids for collaborative research on disease and new drug development.
Kim Dae-soo, dean of the KAIST College of Life Sciences, said, "This collaboration between KAIST and the Formosa Group signifies a new research cooperation model that goes beyond joint research to establish a joint venture, aimed at the global commercialization of developed technologies, which can significantly promote bio-medical research and development."
Chairperson Sandy Wang of Formosa said, "This investment and collaboration are based on trust in KAIST's research and development capabilities and researchers' passion, and through this, we will practice corporate social responsibility and take an important first step together with KAIST to safeguard human welfare and health."
KAIST and the Formosa Group plan to expand collaboration into various fields, including bio, mobility, and semiconductors.