Korea's healthcare industry stands at a crossroads, balancing innovation against global market challenges. Despite growth, Korean companies often lack the scale to compete internationally. Open innovation offers a promising strategy to overcome these limitations. Notably, multinational pharmaceutical giants have recently intensified their open innovation activities in Korea, recognizing the country's potential. This trend could accelerate Korea's healthcare advancements and boost its global presence. Korea Biomedical Review met with various multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies currently conducting open innovation efforts in Korea to learn more about Korea's ability to leverage these collaborations and potentially accelerate its healthcare advancements on the global stage. This is the third installment. -- Ed.
In a move to strengthen the Korean biotech ecosystem, Amgen Korea has launched its "Golden Ticket" program in Korea. world biotechnology
The Golden Ticket program provides resources to support the faster growth of early-stage biotech startups. It was launched in the U.S. in 2014 as part of Amgen’s broader efforts to foster biotechnology innovation.
Korea marks the fifth country globally to participate in this initiative after successful implementations in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and France.
The program's first winners were recently announced at the Global Open Innovation Week for Pharma & Bio, held on Nov. 20-22. PB Immune Therapeutics won the first place with its precision immune analysis platform for developing immune-modulating antibody therapeutics and cell therapy treatments. FNCT Biotech was awarded second place for its work in pulmonary fibrosis treatment development.
"Amgen's mission is 'To Serve Patients,' which means that we aim to create change in patients' lives through innovative biotechnology and medicines," Amgen Korea Rare Disease TA Lead Lee Sung-jae told Korea Biomedical Review in a recent interview. The Golden Ticket program demonstrates Amgen's effort to actively seek out and collaborate with various Korean companies possessing innovative technologies, ultimately aiming to address unmet needs across different therapeutic areas through joint drug development.
The program strategically focuses on three key technological domains that align with Amgen's global research priorities -- multispecifics, novel targets, and AI and data science-enabled drug discovery.
What sets the Golden Ticket Program apart from other multinational pharma partnership models is its comprehensive incubation approach.
"While licensing could be one growth option, our primary goal is to strengthen the capabilities of Korean biotech ventures themselves," Lee said. "We're particularly interested in early-stage companies, especially those in the pre-proof-of-concept phase, as they can benefit most significantly from our open innovation program offerings."
In collaboration with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), Amgen has structured an extensive support system for winning companies.
The benefits package includes year-long R&D mentoring from Amgen Global, specialized consulting for FDA approval processes, and dedicated research space at the Health Industry Innovation Startup Center.
"We're planning to open the 'Golden Ticket Center' at the Health Industry Innovation Startup Center, providing office and research space for promising domestic biotechnology startups," Lee said. “Winners will also have the valuable opportunity to visit Amgen's headquarters and engage directly with our global executives.”
The program's mentoring component is particularly flexible and comprehensive.
"Before beginning mentoring, we assess what support is needed through surveys," Lee explains. "Based on requests, we cover various topics including manufacturing, research direction, and business models.”
When necessary, the company also collaborates with its global Business Development team to provide networking opportunities.
Korea’s strength in biotech innovation
Lee explained that the company’s work in Korea began with previous successful pilot initiatives that demonstrated the market's potential.
"We started with the KHIDI-Amgen Science Academy: Bioday in 2021, which introduced Amgen's R&D status, achievements, and areas of interest," Lee said. “This was followed by the Pitching Day program in 2022-2023, which attracted significant participation from Korean biotech companies and helped establish the groundwork for the more comprehensive Golden Ticket Program.”
Lee emphasized the distinctive strengths of Korean biotech companies in the global landscape.
"Korean companies have shown remarkable technological advancement in a short period,” he said. “They're particularly adept at integrating IT technology and data science into healthcare, especially in precision medicine, AI, and digital health solutions.”
Korean companies’ decision-making and response to new directions are incredibly flexible, he added, noting that many companies have already conducted substantial research in cutting-edge areas, demonstrating their ability to quickly adapt to industry trends.
However, Lee stressed that as the biotech innovation field is in its early stages in Korea, Korean companies also face certain challenges in the global market.
"While Korean companies may have excellent technical capabilities and research capacity, they often struggle with setting strategies for global expansion due to limited experience," Lee said. "This is where Amgen's program can provide complementary support through comprehensive incubation, including guidance on global market entry strategies."
The strong support from the Korean government through KHIDI has been instrumental in the program's implementation.
"We felt how actively the government is focusing on nurturing biotech companies through this Golden Ticket program," Lee says. "Without KHIDI's active help and discussion in preparing for open innovation, it would have been difficult to bring the Golden Ticket program here."
For companies considering future applications to the program, Lee offered strategic guidance.
"When targeting Korea or the U.S., it's crucial to understand the market demands and how your technology addresses unmet needs,” he said. “When considering collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies, understanding their therapeutic areas of interest and required technologies will increase chances of successful networking and partnering."
Looking ahead, Amgen plans to continue the Golden Ticket Program annually, with a commitment to evolving the program based on participant feedback and market needs.
"We'll carefully identify what Korean companies really need through trial and error, and develop the program to provide more practical support," Lee said. "We especially encourage companies with strong technology in Amgen's areas of interest, who may have previously lacked opportunities for full-scale research and development, to apply."
cell culture bioreactor 1 Through this comprehensive support program, Amgen is not only fostering innovation but also helping to build a more robust and globally competitive Korean biotech sector, he added.