Eli Lilly, Samsung Biologics Form Alliance to Nurture Korean Biotech Startups

Global pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is partnering with Samsung Biologics (207940) to nurture domestic biotech ventures. This marks Lilly's first overseas incubation hub established in collaboration with a local company.

According to industry sources on March 10, Lilly is working with Samsung Biologics to establish "Lilly Gateway Labs" in Songdo by 2027. Lilly Gateway Labs is a global open innovation-based incubating program that supports early-stage biotech ventures in new drug development.

Korea becomes the third country to host Lilly Gateway Labs, following the United States and China. However, this is expected to be the first case among overseas hubs to be pursued in partnership with a local company. "Lilly and Samsung Biologics have built a trust relationship through production cooperation," an industry official said. "Once the two companies begin joint incubation of biotech ventures, the qualitative growth of these ventures will accelerate."

Funding and Network Support: Building a Three-Pillar System of 'Venture Discovery-Drug Development-Production'

Eli Lilly's establishment of a biotech venture incubation hub in Songdo with Samsung Biologics is interpreted as a strategic move to create a "bridgehead" for nurturing ventures focused on new drug research and development. Once operational, this hub is expected to form a structure where Lilly discovers promising biotech ventures and supports R&D while Samsung Biologics handles production. Industry analysts suggest this will serve as an opportunity to establish a so-called "K-Bio Triangle Alliance" connecting global pharmaceutical companies, biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMO), and biotech ventures.

The long-standing cooperative relationship and production infrastructure between the two companies are cited as key factors behind Lilly's selection of Samsung Biologics as its partner for the domestic incubation hub. Samsung Biologics and Lilly have maintained a partnership for nearly 10 years. They built trust through close collaboration during COVID-19 antibody treatment production, including shortening technology transfer periods.

Samsung Biologics' production capacity is also considered crucial. Samsung Biologics is one of the world's largest biopharmaceutical CDMO companies with 845,000 liters of production capacity. For Lilly, large-scale production capabilities are essential as next-generation blockbuster drug candidates such as obesity and diabetes treatments (Mounjaro, Zepbound) and Alzheimer's treatment donanemab enter commercialization stages. This production infrastructure is seen as an important consideration in Lilly's decision to establish a cooperation hub within Korea's bio ecosystem.

The Lilly Gateway Labs in Songdo will accommodate approximately 30 biotech ventures. Tenant companies will receive research space and equipment, as well as scientific consulting and joint research opportunities from Lilly researchers. Loans and networking with global venture capital investors will also be provided.

Industry experts expect participation in incubation programs with global pharmaceutical companies to have positive effects on investment attraction. Connection to a global pharmaceutical company's research network serves as a signal guaranteeing a biotech venture's technological capabilities, increasing the likelihood of securing venture capital investment. Additionally, a structure where global pharmaceutical companies directly provide mentoring and research collaboration can help early-stage biotech ventures rapidly enhance their R&D capabilities.

This incubation model has already proven successful overseas. Lilly opened Gateway Labs in Beijing, China in 2025 and operates an incubation program for local biotech ventures. At the center's opening, Chinese biotech venture "4B Technologies," which develops treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, was selected as the first tenant company. The company has reportedly attracted approximately $39 million (about 57 billion won) in investment to date.

Companies that have gone through the Lilly Gateway Labs program have attracted a total of approximately $3 billion (about 4.3 trillion won) in investment and are developing more than 50 drug candidates and platforms. Industry observers expect the Songdo hub to serve as a bridgehead supporting domestic biotech ventures' growth and global expansion based on this global incubation model.

"The combination of Lilly's research network and Samsung Biologics' production infrastructure could be an opportunity for domestic biotech ventures to join the global new drug development ecosystem," a bio industry official said. "Once the Songdo hub is operational, a new cooperative structure connecting venture discovery, nurturing, and production will be created."

Samsung C-Lab Outside Expands to Bio, Driving K-Bio Ecosystem Support

The launch of Lilly Gateway Labs in Korea in 2027 is expected to boost Lilly's cooperation with domestic bio companies. "Cooperation will expand not only for new drug candidates but also with emerging bio companies related to drugs Lilly is developing," another industry official noted.

This agreement is expected to serve as an opportunity for Samsung's external startup nurturing program, C-Lab Outside, to expand into the bio industry. C-Lab Outside, which started at Samsung Electronics in 2018, expanded to Samsung Financial Networks' "Samsung Finance C-Lab Outside" in 2024.

Samsung Biologics has made various efforts to support the K-Bio ecosystem, including investing in promising domestic and international biotechs through the Samsung Life Science Fund, holding mutual growth seminars with domestic biotechs, and strengthening industry-academia cooperation for bio professional training.

"This cooperation with Lilly will provide a foundation for growth to promising domestic biotechs through the excellent open innovation capabilities of global big pharma," said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. "Samsung Biologics will continue efforts to secure sustainable growth momentum for K-Bio through the expansion of organic win-win cooperation models."