We plan to continue strengthening our role as a bridge to help excellent domestic corporations enter the global market. Recently, we have been focusing on innovative digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technology corporations.
Jin-yong Oh, president of Johnson & Johnson MedTech (hereafter J&J MedTech) for North Asia, said on the 19th, "We plan to strengthen collaboration with domestic corporations that possess innovative digital technologies."
Founded in 1886, J&J is the largest healthcare corporation in the world. The pharmaceutical business is managed by Janssen, while medical devices are handled by MedTech (formerly Johnson & Johnson Medical). The consumer business unit was partitioned in 2022 and became a subsidiary named Kenvue.
J&J launched the startup incubation program JLABS in 2012 and has supported over 1,000 bio ventures and medical technology corporations around the world. It has attracted investments totaling $10.94 billion (about 14.5 trillion won) and has seen 57 corporations go public. In Korea, it started JLABS last year and was selected as an enterprise for the global accelerator project promoted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Oh said, "J&J considers open innovation a key business strategy and value to continue its growth by actively embracing external ideas and innovative technologies." In fact, to strengthen its cardiovascular business, J&J acquired three corporations from 2022 to last year: heart pump device company Abiomed, heart implant corporation Laminar, and Shockwave, which developed and commercialized intravascular lithotripsy.
He noted, "Open innovation is also applicable in Korea," adding, "We are helping these domestic corporations with their global market entry."
J&J MedTech entered into an exclusive supply contract for the fracture surgery bone graft material Novosis with CG MedTech, a subsidiary of Cizibio, last month. J&J MedTech is responsible for the distribution and sales of CG MedTech's bone graft material in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, and Macau. Last year, it signed a promotion contract with the domestic artificial intelligence corporation Hutome for an AI navigation product, which is AI software that organizes data necessary for surgical procedures and assists in surgical planning.
Oh stated, "Recently, the cooperation size with Cizibio is the largest among domestic corporations," adding, "We are also collaborating with a variety of domestic corporations such as T&R Biofab, Memopatch Plus, and Hueynow." He mentioned, "There are projects under discussion with domestic corporations, but it's difficult to disclose specific details yet," and noted that discussions are ongoing with various corporations based on biotechnology aside from AI-based medical solution companies.
Oh Jin-yong joined J&J in 2014 and has been leading the medical device business for J&J in North Asia (including Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau) since 2022. Previously, he served as a financial leader managing the global supply chain at the headquarters in the U.S., as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for North Asia, and as the Senior Financial Director for Ethicon in the Asia-Pacific region. These experiences have enabled him to detect changes in the global medical device market ahead of others.
Oh stated, "The major direction of the medical device industry is digital technologies, including AI." He added, "Previously, medical devices were medical equipment; now, they are transitioning to solutions that integrate digital technology to enhance treatment accuracy and predict more precise outcomes."
The company has also changed its name from J&J Medical Devices to J&J MedTech in 2022 to align with these changes. It has launched surgical robots for artificial joints that incorporate digital technology and solutions for arrhythmia treatment based on three-dimensional (3D) mapping technology.
Oh stated, "We are planning to open a surgical education center in the Busan area to foster medical advancement in Korea." He emphasized that to quickly introduce innovative new medical technologies in Korea, three aspects must align: convincing the global headquarters about Korea's medical environment and supply needs, coordinating effectively with Korean health authorities for faster introduction, and ensuring proper surgical education for effective integration of new technologies in the medical field.