Minister LEE Young from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups participated in the "Korea-U.S. Cluster Round Table" on April 28 at 11:00 AM*, where she discussed cluster innovation strategies with local experts from Boston's industry, academia, research institutions, and hospitals.
* Boston local time (EST)
Key members of the Boston cluster, including David Brown, MD, from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)*, where some of the world's best medical and bioclinical trials and research are conducted, and Johannes Fruehauf, CEO of LabCentral**, a bio-startup incubation specialist company, attended this round table discussion.
* No. 1 recipient of NIH funding among the 19 hospitals in Harvard Medical School by field and region
** A specialised laboratory rental company jointly established by the Massachusetts state government and Biolabs company
A diverse group of attendees were present at the round table, including CEOs of global companies such as Moderna and Boston Dynamics, the Vice Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, representatives from Korean companies that have entered the Boston cluster, and experts from legal, patent, finance, and investment sectors, including the President of the Boston Intellectual Property Law Association, the President of the Korean-American Intellectual Property Bar Association, and partners from McKinsey and Bain Capital.
The round table began with an opening keynote speech on "Global Cluster Innovation Strategy" by Jeff Smith, a partner at McKinsey, and continued with various discussions on cluster innovation strategies, including the role of ventures and startups in the cluster, the functions of innovation hubs, and the roles of specialised service companies such as legal and patent firms.
Boston, where this round table was held, is known as the world's leading bio and robotics cluster. The city is where over 1,000 global biotech companies, prestigious universities such as Harvard and MIT, and hospitals and research institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute closely collaborate, with a thriving private service market, including legal, patent, investment, and consulting services, all contributing to the success of the cluster.
Overview of Boston Cluster
ㅇ The Boston Biotech Ecosystem is a cluster and hub for life sciences located in the state of Massachusetts, comprising over 1,000 biotech companies, research institutions, hospitals, and universities in the Boston area.
* Boston accounts for 26% ($13.7 billion) of the total VC investment in the US biotech sector, and 18 out of the top 20 US biopharmaceutical companies located in Boston/Cambridge, including five out of the top 10 NIH-funded hospitals such as MGH, which is ranked first. |
In particular, Kendall Square, located in Cambridge, is known as the "most innovative square mile on the planet" and has been continuously attracting research and development facilities and industrial sites for the past 30 years.
Moreover, startup incubators such as LabCentral, CIC, and JLAB, which provide experimental spaces, wet labs, and networking spaces, are also evaluated as significant contributors to the activation of the cluster by lowering entry barriers for biotech startups.
* Benchmarking Boston's "LabCentral," K-Bio Lab Hub is being developed in Songdo, Incheon.
Minister LEE Young expressed his appreciation for the round table, stating that it provided a valuable opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the operation mechanisms and management experiences of global innovation clusters, and to have serious discussions on cooperation plans between South Korea and the US clusters.
In addition to the "South Korea-U.S. Cluster Round Table," several linked events were held, including ① the signing of MOUs, ② startup investment consultations, ③ local market entry consultations, and ④ intellectual property rights consultations, all aimed at strengthening cooperation between South Korean and US cluster organisations and accelerating global expansion opportunities for Korean SMEs and startups.