LG Chem opens a global innovation center in the U.S., the world's largest bio market, and starts developing new drugs in earnest.
LG Chem held the opening ceremony of the LG Chem Life Sciences Innovation Center in Boston, Massachusets, on May 4, attended by about 30 people including Shin Hak-chul, vice chairman of LG Chem, Son Ji-woong, head of its life science business, and its partner, Q Biopharma Daniel R. Passeri.
LG Chem Life Sciences Innovation Center will be composed of experts in clinical development and medicine, and will serve as a bridgehead for introducing innovative technologies utilizing Boston's bio infrastructure and developing new global drugs.
The first center chief will be Hong Sung-won, head of the new drug research center at the life science business headquarters, and plans to hire a total of 15 experts there by the end of this year.
LG Chem will first submit a clinical two-phase test plan to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of this year in order to proceed with the second phase of global clinical trials for its self-developed new drug, gout and autoimmune diseases.
In addition, the research and nonclinical stages of diabetes, obesity, and inter-fat treatment new drug tasks will be carried out in the future, while new anti-cancer drug tasks introduced by the U.S. "Q Biopharma" and others will be promoted through collaboration with partners.
By doing so, LG Chem plans to secure more than 15 new clinical drug tasks by 2025, up from the current four.
"LG Chemical's next-generation core growth engine, the bio business, is the most important area for long-term stable support," said Vice Chairman Shin Hak-chul. "We will continue to release new innovations with the full-fledged operation of the Global Innovation Center."
Meanwhile, according to Trends in Healthcare Investments and Exits 2019, a total of 85 new drug-task licensing deals were signed by Boston bio cluster companies last year, with the size of the contracts disclosed to the public reaching $4.2 billion.
