South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the Innopolis Foundation will support global expansion by deep tech companies in research and development zones.

The ministry and the foundation will hold events on May 26 and 28 to create opportunities to cooperate with global pharmaceutical companies and investors. The events are part of the Global Boost-up Project, which supports overseas market entry and global business expansion by deep tech companies that have grown through R&D zones.

The ministry and the foundation said they will strengthen global open innovation and links to overseas investment this year to support technology transfer and fundraising outcomes by deep tech companies in the zones.

The ministry held a meet-up event on the afternoon of May 26 at the Daejeon Science Center with global drugmaker Angelini Pharma and zone companies in new drug development. Angelini Pharma is a global pharmaceutical company focused on the central nervous system field. It is expanding cooperation with bio companies in the zones, including signing technology transfer deals worth about 500 billion won with Curebus, an institute company in the Hongneung Gangso Special Zone, and about 750 billion won with Sobagen, a company in the Daedeok Zone.

In particular, Angelini Pharma is also pushing ahead through the Global Boost-up Project with research and commercialisation (R&BD) for global clinical trials of an innovative new drug candidate for central nervous system disease treatment, together with Curebus and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.

An event linked to global investment attraction will also be held on May 28 at Hanwha Dreamplus in Seoul. Eight North America-based investment institutions will participate, including Silicon Valley-based accelerator 500 Global, as well as Antler and Beyond Earth Ventures. The investors will hold one-on-one investment consultations with 14 zone companies in AI, mobility and advanced manufacturing that hope to expand into North America.

The ministry and the foundation will use the events to build strategic partnerships between global investment institutions and zone companies. The goal is to generate results in attracting overseas investment and entering North America.

Koo Hyuk-chae (구혁채), first vice minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "We will actively support zone companies to grow into global companies with technological and business capabilities through the R&D zones' full-cycle support system that runs from research to start-ups, commercialisation and overseas expansion."