Celltrion Partners with Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster to Co

South Korea's Celltrion is fully activating a joint program with Japan's largest biotech cluster to discover next-generation drug pipelines. The vision is to build the first public-private open innovation model connecting the biotech ecosystems of South Korea and Japan, going beyond simple technology licensing or equity investment.

Celltrion announced on the 8th that it held an in-person information session at LINK-J (Life Science Innovation Network Japan)'s Tokyo office to promote the "2026 KBIC-Celltrion Global Scale-Up Program." KBIC stands for Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster, Japan's largest biotech industry hub.

This marks the first time a South Korean company has jointly planned and operated a South Korea-Japan public-private open innovation program with a Japanese biotech cluster. The goal is to support promising startups not only in technology validation and advancement but also through global commercialization.

Applications will be accepted from this month through December. After document screening and presentation reviews, two final companies will be selected in March next year. The target applicants are biotech startups with innovative technologies that can be linked to Celltrion's technology needs, with antibody, peptide, small molecule, and anti-aging fields as primary focus areas. Selected companies will participate in a customized incubation program throughout 2027 to elevate their technical and business capabilities.

Celltrion will provide mentoring and technical advisory services across the entire value chain—from R&D to regulatory approval, manufacturing, and global commercialization—drawing on more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical business experience. The company also plans to leverage its network built with government agencies, local municipalities, industry-academia collaboration institutions, and venture capital firms. In particular, Celltrion plans to explore joint research with promising companies to generate tangible outcomes such as discovering next-generation pipelines.