SMEs Ministry Breaks Ground on "K-Bio Lab Hub" in Songdo, Incheon

Scheduled for Completion in November 2028
Home to 60 Bio Startups

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on September 30 that a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the "K-Bio Lab Hub," a comprehensive support infrastructure for bio startups, at Yonsei University International Campus in Songdo, Incheon.

The "K-Bio Lab Hub" is a bio startup support infrastructure modeled after LabCentral, a renowned bio startup support institution in Boston, United States. The project was initiated to provide integrated support for new drug development spaces, research equipment, research and development (R&D), and global expansion, all in one location.

This initiative was approved during the 6th Innovation Growth BIG3 Promotion Meeting in March 2021. Following a preliminary feasibility study and architectural design in August 2022, construction began. Yonsei University provided the site, laying the foundation for research and industry-academic cooperation, while Incheon Metropolitan City is covering construction costs to build state-of-the-art facilities for bio startups.

The first and second floors of the building will house an operations control room and a specialized area with high-value equipment. The third to seventh floors will include 50 startup support spaces for early-stage companies, and the eighth and ninth floors will provide 10 spaces for growth-stage companies. The facility is scheduled for completion in November 2028, after which 60 bio startup companies will be able to move in immediately.

Prior to completion, the ministry plans to introduce 24 units of 17 types of general-purpose research equipment needed by bio companies into a temporary space at Yonsei University International Campus by next month. Upon completion, a total of 134 units of 59 types of research equipment will be established.

For tenant selection, the "golden ticket" method will be introduced, allowing certain anchor companies to directly recommend and evaluate promising candidates. An open innovation platform will also be established, linking industry, academia, research institutions, hospitals, and venture capital (VC) to promote joint R&D and investment activities. There are also plans to link the hub with Songdo's major bio cluster infrastructure, including Celltrion, Samsung Biologics, SK bioscience, Lotte Biologics, and Yonsei Severance Hospital.

Starting in 2029, six specialized programs, including "R&D Speedup," will be operated to offer tailored step-by-step support for resident companies. These programs will provide 41.4 billion KRW in funding to 60 companies, covering the entire pipeline from candidate compound discovery, preclinical and clinical trials, regulatory approvals, to investment attraction.

Additionally, a membership system will be introduced to allow non-tenant companies to utilize the lab hub’s infrastructure. Through this, the project aims to ensure sustainable and independent operation by establishing a stable financial base via reinvestment and accumulation of revenues even after government support ends.

Lee Soyoung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "The K-Bio Lab Hub will become a core cradle for Korean bio startups to emerge as global unicorn companies," and added, "Starting from the groundbreaking, we will bring together the capabilities of our partner organizations to create a world-class bio startup hub."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.