Samsung Bioepis, a subsidiary of Samsung Epis Holdings, said on the 13th it will jointly run an open innovation program with Seoul Bio Hub to foster bio and medical startups.
The "2026 Seoul Bio Hub–Samsung Bioepis open innovation program" is the first open innovation initiative jointly operated by the two organizations. It was prepared to expand collaboration opportunities between promising Korean bio startups and global bio corporations, and to raise the commercialization potential of next-generation bio technologies.
Samsung Bioepis joined this collaboration as part of its in-house startup fostering program, "Samsung Bioepis C-Lab Outside (C-Lab Outside)." The program expands the external startup support program that Samsung Electronics launched in 2018 into the bio sector, aiming to nurture early-stage biotech and secure promising technologies.
Samsung Bioepis has recently been expanding its research and development beyond biosimilars into antibody- and peptide-based new drugs and next-generation bio platform technologies. In particular, it is strengthening collaboration with external innovative technologies in future growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based drug discovery, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and the discovery of new targets.
A key feature of this program is that it goes beyond simple support to operate around joint research and proof of concept (PoC) linked to Samsung Bioepis' actual research and business needs. Selected corporations will receive mentoring from Samsung Bioepis employees and opportunities for collaboration, and the potential for joint research and strategic investment will also be reviewed.
Seoul Bio Hub is also beginning to recruit bio and medical startups to join the program. Eligible applicants are bio and medical startups founded less than eight years ago as of the announcement date. Up to two companies will be selected, and the recruitment fields are technologies that can be linked to Samsung Bioepis' new business and research areas.
The detailed recruitment fields are: ▲ element technologies for antibody-based therapeutics ▲ peptide-based therapeutic technologies ▲ AI-based new drug development platforms. They include bispecific antibody technologies, ADC platforms, new payload and linker technologies, AI-based antibody and target discovery, and peptide therapeutic development technologies.
Selected corporations will be offered a phased open innovation program for about one year. Regular meetings and PoC with Samsung Bioepis and tailored accelerating will be supported, and they can also receive space at Seoul Bio Hub and rent support.
After the program ends, the potential for substantive collaboration—such as joint research, technology transfer, joint commercialization, and strategic investment—will be reviewed following a final evaluation.
A Seoul Bio Hub official said, "We expect this program to become an opportunity for Korean bio startups to move toward commercialization and strategic collaboration."
Applications close at 2 p.m. on June 12. More details are available on the Seoul Bio Hub website.