Korea Lilly was recognized for partnering with the government to expand open innovation with domestic bio ventures and for contributing to the development of Korea's bio ecosystem.
Korea Lilly said on the 9th that it received a commendation from the president of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) in the institutional sector of the "2026 Global Open Innovation Week–Biohealth" for the "2026 open innovation promotion merit award" at the Four Seasons Hotel Gwanghwamun in Seoul.
The award was given to institutions and individuals who promoted technology cooperation, joint research, technology transfer, and more in the biohealth field at home and abroad, and contributed to building an open innovation ecosystem.
In March, Korea Lilly signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) worth a total of $500 million (about 700 billion won) with the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The agreement calls for cooperation to expand open innovation with domestic pharmaceutical and bio corporations, attract domestic clinical trials, build a research environment, and improve health for vulnerable groups.
In particular, Lilly is partnering with Samsung Biologics to build Lilly Gateway Labs Incheon, a global bio-venture incubating platform in Songdo, Incheon. It is scheduled to be completed in 2027 at C-Lab Outside within Samsung Biologics' second biocampus.
Lilly Gateway Labs is a platform that provides lab and office space to early-stage biotechs and supports collaboration with Lilly researchers and expert mentoring. Since opening its first base in South San Francisco in 2019, Lilly has expanded collaboration with the global bio ecosystem.
It is also strengthening cooperation in new drug development using AI. Based on its own research and development data and drug discovery expertise, Lilly operates Lilly TuneLab, which allows external biotechs to use its AI–Machine Learning prediction models. It plans to expand partnerships with domestic corporations to support the global rollout of promising technologies.
Seiya Komatsu, CEO of Korea Lilly, said, "This commendation is even more meaningful in that it recognizes the value of long-term partnerships and cooperation among industry, government, and innovators," and added, "Through various open innovation activities such as Lilly Gateway Labs Incheon and Lilly TuneLab, we will support domestic promising technologies so they can be connected to global expertise and new drug development opportunities."
Korea Lilly develops treatments in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, and immunology, and is steadily expanding cooperation with domestic bio corporations.