[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Samsung Biologics has partnered with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to establish a South Korean hub for Lilly Gateway Labs (LGL), one of the world’s leading open innovation programs for biotechnology startups.

Samsung Biologics announced on March 10 that it has signed an open innovation partnership agreement with Lilly aimed at fostering promising biotech startups in South Korea.

Under the agreement, the two companies will establish a new LGL hub in Songdo International City, Incheon.

The initiative marks the first time a global pharmaceutical company’s open innovation program has entered South Korea through collaboration with a domestic partner, and it will become LGL’s second hub outside the United States after China.

Lilly launched Lilly Gateway Labs in 2019 to identify and nurture promising biotech startups. The program provides startups with state-of-the-art office and laboratory facilities, as well as R&D collaboration opportunities, mentoring, direct investment, and support for securing external funding.

Recently, global open innovation programs—including LGL—have increasingly turned their attention to South Korea’s biotechnology sector, citing the industry’s strong technological capabilities and growth potential. Lilly said it ultimately chose to enter the Korean market through cooperation with Samsung Biologics.

Because LGL directly selects high-potential biotech startups and supports them through direct and indirect investments, joint research opportunities, and business development support, the new hub is expected to significantly expand opportunities for Korean biotech companies to enter global markets.

Since its launch, companies participating in LGL have collectively raised more than $3 billion in funding, while over 50 drug development programs have been accelerated through the initiative.

The new LGL hub will be located within “C-Lab Outside,” a new open innovation center scheduled for completion in 2027 at Samsung Biologics’ second Bio Campus in Songdo.

Samsung Biologics and Lilly plan to jointly operate the center, including selecting and supporting around 30 resident biotech startups, as part of broader efforts to strengthen the K-bio innovation ecosystem.

The C-Lab Outside facility, currently under construction, will consist of five floors with a total floor area of approximately 12,000 square meters (about 3,500 pyeong).

The partnership is also expected to expand Samsung’s C-Lab Outside startup incubation program into the biotechnology sector.

Originally launched by Samsung Electronics in 2018, C-Lab Outside has since expanded across Samsung affiliates, including the Samsung Financial Networks C-Lab Outside program launched in 2024, and will now extend into the biopharmaceutical industry.

 

 

 

[ⓒ 알파경제. 무단전재-재배포 금지]