바이오스펙테이터

바이오스펙테이터 Jongwon Jang 기자

A bio-accelerator is a biotech-focused program that should be designed to virtually force start-ups to generate real momentum early on. The biotechnology and healthcare sector requires a time-intensive and expensive process, so no revenue is generated through the process during development, to offset the substantial costs that accumulate. Thus, there is prevailing consensus that private accelerators cannot survive in such a tough ecosystem, other than business incubators.

Notwithstanding such circumstances, a private accelerator, ActnerLab, has tapped into the bio-accelerator market. Founded in 2014, ActnerLab is a venture capital and start-up accelerator that helps hardware, Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), and biotech start-ups establish their initial base.

Cho In-je, the founder and CEO of ActnerLab, together with two strong partners, Cho Hoon-je and Kim Joon-geun, has worked to create a leading accelerator in the field of hardware and healthcare. Moreover, CEO Cho established his own IT start-up company in the U.S.

So far, ActnerLab has funded about 50 Korean start-ups (including biotech and IT companies). Under its partnership with a number of foreign accelerators, including Founder’s Space and Lab IX in the U.S., and Zhongguancun Dongsheng Science & Technology Park in China, ActnerLab has spared no effort in helping bring Korean venture firms to the global market place.

CEO Cho said he could find the model of the future in the local bio-accelerator business, although everyone responded negatively to his reckless challenge.

"With its strong support and sizable investment in bio-health over the past 20 years, Korea can be expected to achieve good results sooner or later," CEO Cho, told BioSpectator in a recent interview.

“Our aim is to find and nurture promising Korean start-ups, and to let them expand their global presence with better competitiveness.”

This year, ActnerLab has a grand plan to open a branch office in the U.S., in order to help Korean start-ups advance into overseas markets, and to support the U.S. start-ups.

“To date, our successful start-up companies have been ActnerLab’s biggest asset and weapon. Thus, we are collaborating with these companies to create a fund to support younger entrepreneurs,” said CEO Cho.

The following are edited excerpts of questions and answers during an interview with CEO Cho.

Q: ActnerLab is the first private bio-accelerator in Korea. What was the motive behind this?

A: I run an IT start-up company in Silicon Valley, and have acquired experience in global marketing, research, and operation throughout the hardware field of medical equipment in the Eastern United States. When tech giants like Google or Apple dared to try something new in artificial intelligence (IT) by clandestinely buying IT-related businesses, this led me to create a start-up business. At its inception, ActnerLab focused on helping biotech and IoT start-ups establish their initial foothold and beyond. Since then, ActnerLab, which is staffed by experienced biotech scientists, has devoted itself to development of the local healthcare sector, which has a rosy future.

On July 2014, ActnerLab was formally selected by the Small and Medium Business Administration (currently, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) as one of the start-up accelerators (which was later incorporated into a Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS) in Autumn 2014). ActnerLab started applicant recruitment and evaluation at that time, and obtained the title of a private investment institute through its bio-acceleration program from January 2015.

Q: Do you think that the local bio-health industry has global competitiveness?

A: Equipped with lots of highly qualified manpower, Korea’s biotechnology and healthcare sector has great potential to be a leader in the world’s new drug development efforts at present, and in the future. Furthermore, the government has been extending financial and other support to biotech firms, to propel their advance into the global arena for new business opportunities, via various projects, such as Brain Korea 21. Korea has secured more talented R&D resources that target globalization. Now is the time for Korea to achieve real visible results from its long-term investments over the past 20 years.

Q: ActnerLab succeeded in selecting and nurturing about 50 start-ups in a short period of time. What was the secret behind this?

A: First, a fever of startups in Korea was the hottest issue at the end of the 1990s, in line with the government’s push to develop new growth industries, and support small and medium-sized enterprises. Second, we could easily contact prominent human resources through ActnerLab’s large networks with local hospitals and universities. Currently, we are incubating 50 new start-ups that await seed funding, in addition to 50 ActnerLab-financed start-ups. Third, ActnerLab’s continuous contacts with potential entrepreneurs have been made available through a group of entrepreneurs who have made a successful debut via ActnerLab. I believe the would-be start-up companies are the most important asset and weapon for ActnerLab. Our networks will further expand beyond limits. We are passionate about helping technology-based Korean startups become successful global companies.

Q: ActnerLab has successfully nurtured many start-ups. Please specify some examples.

A: Among the start-ups ActnerLab has funded, G+Flas Life Sciences and LART Bio were introduced at the end of 2017 as the nation’s representative genome editing start-ups in the Korea Development Bank (KDB)-led “Next Round” program that helps link companies with new investors, to help startups prepare for the future.

Furthermore, ActnerLab-supported EOFlow won a grand prize at the 2017 TIPS Convention. EOFlow is now at the forefront of developing wearable automated insulin delivery systems for people with type 1 diabetes.

Q: What is your vision and overseas expansion plan?

A: First of all, ActnerLab should do better in its basic accelerator role to help 20 to 30 start-ups annually with seed funding. If the second opportunity is offered, I want to create a large-scale global fund for investment in initial global start-up companies with a short history of 1 or 2 years. If any companies with innovative technologies lead the market with reasonable costs, a high return may be anticipated. Lastly, ActnerLab will aggressively help Korean bio-tech start-ups advance into the global market, and to this end, we are contemplating gaining a strategic foothold in the Eastern United States in the first half of this year, by developing closer collaboration with U.S. university professors, engineers, and investors. In addition, we will seek to foster promising U.S. start-ups, and attract some of them to Korea, with a plan to commercialize the U.S. patents owned by U.S. hospitals. It is our sincere hope as a global accelerator to open three hub centers in Seoul, Osong, and the U.S. within 10 years.

Q: What could the government do to help Korea’s bio-health?

A: The most important thing to realize is that investment in human resources is not only investment for the future, but also a catalyst for active consumption. For funding, Korea needs to pour in at least three times the current amount of funding. Policy makers are afraid of the bubbles of value of venture firms that burst in the early 2000s, but today, the bubbles are not severe, and can now be controlled. Korea should not overly regulate any overlap in investment, as the next start-ups may be able to solve the outstanding projects by their predecessors, with shorter 1 to 2 year periods in start-up creation. If overlapped, the government must support the R&D activities of able start-ups. The fever of start-ups in the early 2000s led to ‘blind investment’, thus producing a number of venture businesses that have emerged as key players in Korea’s manufacturing industries. Market capitalization of these listed companies is bigger than that of any local conglomerate.

Q: What is the role of the private sector in promoting the growth of Korea’s bio-health?

A: Local companies are like big fish in a little pond. So too are the private research institutes. Large companies do not dare any long-term research. In particular, pharmaceutical firms are too conservative and bureaucratic. Ironically, those who are against new projects are researchers themselves, but who shun taking any risks. If they don’t engage in long-term research, Korean companies will not be globally competitive in the years to come.