The ‘MUST Connect 2023 Singapore,’ which connects promising domestic bio and digital healthcare startups with global pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions, and investors to support their overseas expansion, will be held for two days on the 11th and 12th at Singapore Science Park.
The ‘MUST Connect’ is a global innovation roadshow hosted by MUST Accelerator (CEO Lee Ji-seon), which supports the overseas expansion of domestic startups, and invites major pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, research institutions, and investors from Singapore, where the Asia-Pacific offices of global pharmaceutical companies are concentrated, to introduce startups in the bio and digital healthcare fields in Korea. Following last year, it is being held for the second time this year.
This year, 12 startups participated in the event, including Neurophet, which analyzes AI-based different brain structures for each person, and Neurive, which develops electronic drugs for degenerative brain diseases such as depression. Also, ImmunAbs, which is on the verge of phase 2 clinical trials in the U.S. for autoimmune therapies, and ABLE Labs, which produces bio-experiment liquid handling robots and ranked second in the Boston RESI Conference Innovation Pitch Challenge last month.
The ‘MUST Connect 2023 Singapore’ was sponsored by the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ), which has been supporting bio and digital healthcare startups. Among the selected 12 companies, promising companies selected from the ‘Global Expansion Local Specialized Program’ conducted by Seoul Bio Hub were also included.
The event was attended by global pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Sanofi CHC from France, Organon from the United States, as well as SG Innovate, a venture capital and startup support agency under the Singapore government, and EDB Investment from the investment division of the Singapore Economic Development Board. Also in attendance were prominent venture capital firms in Southeast Asia, Jungle Ventures, and Phillips Ventures, which have focused on investing in the life sciences sector.
In particular, J&J, which operates the global startup support program JLABS, has shown a keen interest in Korean bio and digital healthcare startups. In this roadshow, they invited 12 participating companies and conducted separate sessions.
The event began with presentations on recent global industry trends and open innovation initiatives pursued by enterprise pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. Following this, the 12 Korean startups held company presentations (IR) and engaged in customized one-on-one meetings with investors and potential collaboration partners.
Lee Ji-seon, CEO of MUST Accelerator, stated, “Given the nature of the bio and digital healthcare industries, startups should have a global market orientation from the outset. The goal of this roadshow is to connect domestic startups with a variety of global partners, enabling them to find not only investment but also opportunities for R&D and collaboration.”
Singapore, where the event took place, is known for housing the Asia-Pacific offices of various global pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, has deep connections with the Korean bio industry, including a substantial investment in Celltrion back in 2010.