Abion (203400) and Oncosoft were recognized as promising companies with innovative technologies in the biohealth sector in Korea this year.
AstraZeneca Korea today announced the winners of the AstraZeneca K-bio Expressway Pitching Awards, which was held in conjunction with the KHIDI
The K-bio Expressway Pitching Awards is an open innovation program to identify domestic biohealth companies with innovative technologies and capabilities in AstraZeneca's areas of interest with the aim of expanding into overseas markets. This year, the program invited biotech companies with therapeutic drug development and related technologies; biotech companies with disease prediction and diagnostic technologies; mid-sized and large domestic pharma and biotech companies looking to expand into the Chinese market; IT companies developing healthcare data, artificial intelligence (AI) and patient-centered applications; and pharma and biotech-related materials and equipment companies.
The two organizations selected the first round of eight outstanding companies out of 28 companies that applied through the recruitment announcement in September. They then held a competitive presentation and evaluation at the 'AZ K-Bio Expressway' pitching session on the 4th of this month.
Abion is focused on developing companion diagnostics-based anticancer drugs. In particular, the company was recognized for its successful Phase 2 clinical trial of a drug for non-small cell lung cancer that targets c-MET mutations. Oncosoft is the only AI-based radiotherapy software company in Korea, founded in 2019 by medical physicist Dr. Jin Sung Kim, a professor of radiation oncology at Yonsei University College of Medicine. The company was recognized for its contribution to improving the efficiency and accuracy of radiation therapy by developing AI-based automatic contouring software.
The two winning companies will receive KRW 25 million in cash prizes, including a trip to AstraZeneca's international life science innovation hub campus in China, iCampus, as well as consulting support from AstraZeneca and a year-long program to support their startups.
“The innovative technologies of promising companies such as Abion and Oncosoft are excellent examples of the competitiveness of the domestic biohealth industry,” said Cha Soon-do, President of the KHIDI. ”We will strengthen startup support and global connections to help outstanding companies go global.”
The award ceremony was attended by AstraZeneca's Sean Grady, Senior Vice President, Global Business Development Organization; Jeon Se-Hwan, President of AstraZeneca Korea; Oh Chang-Hyun, Head of Health Industry Promotion Division, Ministry of Health and Welfare; Hong Heon-Woo, Director of Planning, KHIDI; and Kim Dong-Seok, General Manager, KHIDI. Building on the previous MOU, AstraZeneca and the Korea Health Industry Promotion Agency will collaborate to establish partnerships between AstraZeneca and Korean companies, provide overseas expansion consulting support, and revitalize the domestic pharma-bio industry.
