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Celltrion has selected four startups holding next-generation biotechnologies, including an artificial intelligence (AI)-based protein antibody development platform and organoids, and will expand its open innovation collaboration.
Celltrion announced on the 10th that it had finalized the selection of four companies — Ainvee, Nbiocell, Imita Science, and Podo Therapeutics — as participants in the fourth cohort of the "2026 Seoul Bio Hub-Celltrion Open Innovation Program." The signing ceremony, held that day at the Global Biotechnology Research Center within Celltrion's headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, took place with officials from Celltrion, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Bio Hub, and the selected companies in attendance. The selected companies hold, respectively, an AI-based protein antibody development platform, an oral delivery formulation platform for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) derivatives, biological tissue mimicry-based disease modeling and drug evaluation technology, and a patient-derived organoid-based precision medicine platform technology.
The program was established to discover bio and medical startups that can connect with Celltrion's research and development needs, and, together with Seoul Bio Hub, to support technological advancement and the expansion of a foundation for growth. Celltrion plans to review the possibility of joint research and commercialization with the selected companies and to provide customized support at each growth stage, including technological advancement and mentoring.
Celltrion has also been producing results from earlier open innovation programs. Enterobiome, a first-cohort company, became the first Korean company to win the 2024 Kansai Life Science Accelerator Program (KLSAP) through a global bio cluster competition program provided by Celltrion, attracting investment in the range of 10 billion won. Celltrion signed joint research and equity investment agreements with second-cohort company Biomy, and has continued new drug development collaborations, including signing joint research agreements with third-cohort companies MustBio, Galux, and Portrai.
A Celltrion official emphasized, "These fourth-cohort companies hold technologies with high potential for application, such as AI-based protein and antibody development, oral delivery of GLP-1 derivatives, disease modeling, and organoid-based precision medicine," adding, "We will expand points of collaboration with promising startups and contribute to the growth of the domestic bio ecosystem."
