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Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) is set to set up an independent booth at the BIO International Convention 2026 (BIO USA), the world's largest bio-industry event, marking a first among domestic university hospitals. The goal is to support promising bio-startups while expanding its global collaborative network by leveraging its digital health research capabilities.

According to SNUH on June 16, the hospital will operate an independent booth at the BIO USA exhibition hall, which takes place in San Diego, U.S., from June 22 to 25.

BIO USA is the world's largest bio-industry event hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). It is regarded as a premier venue where global pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, investment firms, and research institutions gather to discuss technical cooperation, investment, and business development. This year, more than 20,000 industry officials from over 76 countries are expected to participate.

While SNUH has previously participated in BIO USA, this is the first time it will set up an independent booth under the hospital's own name. Until last year, its participation remained at the level of introducing research achievements as a participating institution in the Seoul National University R&DB Foundation booth.

Although there are numerous instances where domestic university hospitals have conducted partnering meetings or research exchanges at BIO USA, it is evaluated as rare for a hospital to arrange an independent booth inside the exhibition hall and put its own brand to the forefront like SNUH.

At this BIO USA, the achievements of five promising bio-startups nurtured by SNUH and the National Strategic Technology Specialized Research Institute will be introduced. Five companies will participate: HT&B and MediArk, which are selected companies for the "Global Bio Scale-up Enterprise Fostering Project (G.R.E.A.T)," as well as in-hospital startups RS Rehab, Idea2Market, and Cenyx BioTech.

The G.R.E.A.T project is an initiative that has been promoted since 2024 with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea, aiming to assist promising bio-companies within five years of establishment in advancing their technologies and strengthening their global business capabilities. With a total investment of 12.6 billion KRW, the project selects a total of 14 companies over six years to support technology development, commercialization, and domestic and international partnering.

MediArk, a selected project company, is an enterprise that develops gene therapeutics utilizing nucleic acid delivery technology based on metal-organic frameworks (MOF), while HT&B is developing radioprotective agents and dental biomaterials.

As for the in-hospital startups, RS Rehab is a developer of rehabilitation medical devices for the treatment of dysphagia (swallowing disorders), and Idea2Market is researching bio-signal-based digital healthcare technologies. Cenyx BioTech is pursuing the development of next-generation therapeutics utilizing a nanozyme platform.

The hospital plans to support these companies' global business development (BD) meetings, investor networking, and overseas partnering opportunities during the event, serving as a beachhead for domestic bio-companies to advance into overseas markets.

Along with supporting startups, SNUH plans to actively promote the research capabilities of the National Strategic Technology Specialized Research Institute.

Since being designated as the first National Strategic Technology Specialized Research Institute by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2024, the hospital has been promoting research on the analysis and utilization of digital health data. At this event, the hospital will introduce the "KHDP (Korea Health Data Platform)," a digital health data-based global research platform it is establishing, and seek joint research opportunities with overseas research institutions.

The operation of the independent booth at BIO USA is also significant in that SNUH is expanding its role beyond a treatment- and research-oriented institution into an innovative platform that supports the fostering and technology commercialization of bio-companies.

"The research capabilities possessed by Seoul National University and Seoul National University Hospital must lead to a virtuous cycle ecosystem of industry, academia, research, and hospitals," stated Baik Nam-jong, president of SNUH, at a press conference the previous day following his inauguration. He added, "We will ensure that the created technologies and companies enter the global market to contribute to generating the nation's future growth engines."

Kwon Sung-keun, vice president of research at SNUH, said, "We came to operate an independent booth at BIO USA to support the global advancement of promising domestic bio-companies and to let the world know about the research capabilities of the National Strategic Technology Specialized Research Institute," adding, "We plan to actively discover opportunities for overseas joint research and global cooperation."

                                                                                                              Bae Da-hyun