MaRS Innovation (MI) www.marsinnovation.com and the South Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) www.khidi.orkr/eps have signed a five year global partnership agreement to commercialize the latest advances in biomedical and healthcare innovations which are expected to generate new startups worth over $100 million.
KHIDI and ten South Korean research driven hospitals have expressed interest in collaborating with MaRS Innovation’s 15 institutions that include the University of Toronto and their nine affiliated teaching hospitals.
KHIDI is South Korea’s only public organization to promote and develop the health industry in the country, while promoting national healthcare services. Apart from its primary function in health technology R&D, KHIDI has also using the initiative to increase competitiveness in different areas of the health industry.
By securing global-level research capabilities and creating positive outcomes through commercialization initiatives, MaRS Innovation anticipates that this partnership will create ten startup companies and over 100 highly skilled jobs.
The highlight of the agreement centers on a new global high-tech KHIDI Biomedical Business Hub in Seoul which MaRS Innovation will help to transform into a growth engine for South Korea’s economy.
“KHIDI has a proven track record for identifying promising early stage biomedical and healthcare projects and successfully developing them through clinical stages. We believe that our joint pools of novel technologies and projects together with HIDI’s medical development expertise and strategic collaborations with global players is a perfect match”, according to Dr. Raphael Hofstein, President and CEO MaRS Innovation.