Newsletter Signup - Under Article / In Page
"*" indicates required fields
Already a major player in the machinery, electronics, and telecommunications market, South Korea’s growing biotech industry has also made headlines over the past few years. Home to hundreds of biopharmaceutical companies, the sector saw $2.9 billion worth of investments pour in between 2021 and 2022.
South Korea’s capital Seoul ranked as the city with the greatest number of pharma-led clinical trials in the world in 2022, according to a report by Intralink. One of the largest contract drug developers, Samsung Biologics, headquartered in the city of Incheon, has a market cap of €44.61 billion ($51.98 billion) as of August, and has expanded its production in the U.S. over the years.
With the biopharma industry in the region valued at $22 billion, there are a number young biotechs looking to make it big in the sector in hopes that their first-in-class drugs make it to the market. Here are five South Korean biotech startups in the clinic that have captured investors in recent years and are broadening research and development (R&D) in various therapeutic areas.
Table of contents
Etnova Therapeutics
- Technology: Small molecules
- Disease areas: Cancer, ischemic stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases
The cancer drug market in South Korea is expected to reach $2.61 billion this year and is projected to hit $3.63 billion in the next five years. South Korea-based Etnova Therapeutics hopes to join this market with its lead cancer therapy.
Its candidate ETN101 works by binding to the enzyme tyrosine kinase to disrupt the proliferation of cancer cells. This is done by inhibiting downstream signaling pathways, such as PI3K/AKT and RAS-MAPK.
In preclinical trials, mice models had complete remission after being given ETN101 for about a month, resulting in an improved cure rate. It then secured investigational new drug (IND) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023, and the first patient was enrolled in phase 1 studies last year. Clinical development is ongoing for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer.
Currently in preclinical studies, the startup’s candidates ETN102 and ETN103 aim to treat ischemic strokes and neurodegenerative diseases, respectively. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot obstructs a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain, cutting off nutrient and oxygen supply. ETN102 is designed to suppress the proteins responsible for brain inflammation, thereby preventing neuron damage.
On the other hand, ETN103 is intended to stimulate nerve cell regeneration, particularly those that are difficult to regenerate, to treat conditions like dementia.
So far, the biotech has pocketed ₩5.2 billion ($3.73 million), which was part of a series A funding round in 2022.
IMBiologics
- Technology: Antibodies
- Disease areas: Autoimmune diseases and cancer
Located in South Korea, IMBiologics is focused on developing drugs for autoimmune conditions and cancer. Its antibodies are born from its library that consists of genes that encode for specific antibodies that bind to antigens.
Its ePENDY platform technology has demonstrated enhanced binding activity and effector functions compared to immunoglobulin G (IgG), the most abundant antibody in the bloodstream that has only two variable domains that can bind to targets.
The most advanced antibody in IMBiologics’ roster is IMB-101, which hit the clinic two months ago. It is a bispecific antibody targeting OX40L and TNF, which modulates both adaptive and innate immune responses. The target OX40L is associated with the presence of autoantibodies in early rheumatoid arthritis, and TNF causes inflammation in the joints, which is a major symptom of the autoimmune disease.
IMBiologics’ other autoimmune disease candidates are IMB-102 and IMB-104, which are in preclinical studies at the moment. As for its cancer drug pipeline, IMB-201, IMB-202, IMB-401, and IMB-402 are in the screening and discovery stages.
The startup joined hands with fellow South Korean antibody developer Y-Biologics to create antibodies that can target autoimmune diseases. Y-Biologics is a long-standing partner of IMBiologics, having developed IMB-101 together. The antibody candidate was licensed out to U.S.-based Navigator Medicines for up to $944.75 million in milestones as well as Chinese company Huadong Pharmaceutical for up to $315.5 million in milestones last year.
The last time the biotech bagged funds via a funding round was ₩20 billion ($14.4 million) in 2023.
Pin Therapeutics
- Technology: Targeted protein degradation
- Disease area: Cancer
Named after its drug discovery platforms, South Korean biotech Pin Therapeutics is honed in on targeted protein degradation, an emerging strategy to eliminate disease-causing proteins.
One of its platform technologies is PinE3, which has been created to identify new binders with improved drug properties in a short period of time. Its other platform involved in targeted protein degradation is its molecular glues platform called PinGLUE.
Its candidates born from PinGLUE are in the discovery stages. However, the ones based on the PinE3 platform are advancing in clinical and preclinical trials. PIN-5018 is one of them, aside from the candidates addressing undisclosed targets to treat solid tumors. The candidate PIN-5018 is an oral CK1α-ive molecular glue degrader that was granted IND approval this year. Dosing of patients with adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that originates in the glands, will begin later this year, it was announced at ASCO 2025.
Other cancers the company has plans to treat with PIN-5018 include colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia – a type of blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow.
The South Korean startup attracted ₩20 billion ($14.3 million) in a series C round late last year.
Rznomics
- Technology: RNA-targeted therapies
- Disease areas: Cancer, eye disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease
Specializing in RNA therapeutics, Rznomics has built a platform that has several features, including its ability to inhibit the expression of disease-specific genes and RNA and modulate gene expression.
Its pipeline consists of RZ-001, RZ-002, RZ-003, and RZ-004 for various diseases. RZ-001 is currently in phase 1 studies for hepatocellular carcinoma. It targets telomerase reverse transcriptase, which is a component of the telomerase enzyme that is activated in more than 90% of human cancers. It is injected into tumor cells and is carried by an adenovirus. The candidate is also in the clinic to treat patients with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
Meanwhile, RZ-002 also targets telomerase reverse transcriptase, and like RZ-001, it aims to address glioblastoma. It is being tested preclinically. RZ-004 targets mutant rhodopsin, the light-sensitive pigment in the eyes that can lead to the degeneration of the retina in the eye when they misfold. It is being preclinically studied for retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition.
As for RZ-003, it is in the discovery stage to potentially target the protein apolipoprotein E, which is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
The startup signed a $1.3 billion licensing deal with the pharma giant Eli Lilly to develop RNA therapies for inherited hearing loss in May. It also drew in ₩20.3 billion ($14.6 million) in pre-initial public offering (IPO) funding in January.
Spark Biopharma
- Technology: Small molecules
- Disease areass: Cancer, infectious diseases, lung, heart, and autoimmune conditions
South Korean biotech Spark Biopharma has several platforms on its roster. These include its phenotypic screening approach to match the complex disease targets with first-in-class therapies and its proteomics platform – the study of proteins – to discover biomarkers.
While its pipeline focuses on different kinds of diseases like cancer, infectious diseases, lung, heart, and autoimmune conditions, all of their therapies are designed to target immune dysfunction. One of its clinical candidates is SBP-101, a prodrug compound that binds to the protein HMGB1, which acts as both an oncogene and a tumor suppressor. It is in phase 1 trials to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancer, which originates in the bile ducts in the liver.
In the lead optimization stage, Spark Biopharma has SBP-105 for solid tumors, and in the lead generation stage, it has SBP-201 and SBP-202 for neurodegenerative diseases.
The startup joined forces with fellow South Korean company LG Chem to co-develop drugs for hard-to-treat diseases in June. It last raised ₩25 billion ($17.9 million) in a series C round in 2022, contributing to a total of ₩28 billion ($20.1 million) over three rounds.
R&D deals soaring in South Korea
Several licensing deals have been pledged this year to promote R&D in South Korea. This includes a collaboration between Y-Biologics and Crosspoint Therapeutics to develop cancer therapies, the Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Salipro Biotech pact to develop small molecules, a partnership between Celltrion and Onconic Therapeutics to design dual-target anticancer drugs, and Galux and Hanall Biopharma’s decision to discover antibodies with the help of artificial intelligence.
As the biopharma industry in the country is expected to grow by 11.3% annually until 2030, according to a report by Grand View Horizon, collaborations are also bound to increase. And, as the startup environment seems to be bustling now, it won’t be long until other novel therapies enter the clinic soon.
Are you interested in eye disease R&D?
