Daewoong Pharmaceutical has gained recognition for its achievements in open innovation through research and development (R&D) and collaborations with external companies and institutions.
The company announced on Monday that it had been awarded the inaugural Seoul Biohealth Award, an event organized by the Seoul Newspaper and supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
The Seoul Biohealth Award was established this year to highlight innovative achievements in the domestic biohealth industry and boost its competitiveness. Winners were chosen based on a comprehensive evaluation of R&D investments, contributions to the industrial ecosystem, and global market entry successes over the past year.
Daewoong received high marks for its Connect & Development (C&D) open innovation strategy, which combines its in-house drug development capabilities with cutting-edge external technologies. This approach involves identifying promising technologies from biotech startups and research institutions, then leveraging Daewoong’s clinical, production, and commercialization expertise to accelerate new drug development.
A prime example of this strategy is the liver organoid production and drug evaluation technology acquired from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. Organoids are mini-organs cultured to mimic the structure and function of human organs, useful for assessing the efficacy and toxicity of new drug candidates.
Daewoong is refining a non-clinical evaluation system using this technology to align with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) testing guidelines and ISO standards. The company is also participating as an industry supply partner in the OECD guideline adoption project for liver organoid toxicity testing, spearheaded by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Recently, Daewoong has been investing over 15% of its annual revenue in R&D, expanding its proprietary drug pipeline. Beyond treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (Fexuclue) and diabetes (Envlo), the company is developing new drugs targeting areas of significant unmet medical need, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, autoimmune diseases, and obesity.
Furthermore, Daewoong is rapidly expanding its business structure from a domestic focus to a global presence through overseas technology exports and local approvals for its in-house developed drugs.
The company is also broadening its new drug development efforts through external technologies. In May, Daewoong acquired INV-008, a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease that works by regenerating intestinal mucosa, from Innovo Therapeutics. Daewoong will oversee global clinical development and commercialization for this product.
The scope of open innovation is expanding into digital healthcare, combining technologies from medical device companies with Daewoong’s nationwide sales, marketing, and commercialization capabilities.
Daewoong is also participating as an operator in the TIPS (Technology Incubation Program for Startups) run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. By running its own startup recruitment program, Innovare, for five consecutive years, the company is broadening its collaborative efforts from discovering early-stage bio and healthcare companies to joint research and development.
Daewoong continues to make strides in international expansion with its self-developed products. The botulinum toxin Nabota surpassed 1 trillion KRW (approximately 728 million USD) in global cumulative sales as of June. The company has established partnerships in over 80 countries and secured marketing approvals in 69 countries.
Daewoong has also maintained substantial investments in production facilities. The company has invested a cumulative 1 trillion KRW (about 728 million USD) in production infrastructure, including the Osong smart factory. This investment enables Daewoong to meet the stringent quality control standards required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Daewoong’s CEO, Park Seong-soo, stated that this award signifies the recognition of the C&D open innovation strategy, which connects R&D with innovative technologies from biotech startups and research institutions to foster mutual growth. It will strengthen our role as a commercialization platform that enables domestic innovative technologies to advance into the global market.