In an initiative to strengthen early phase clinical research in South Korea, Celerion and the Korean Drug Development Fund (KDDF) entered a collaboration providing expertise and support for the emerging drug discovery and development industry in the region.
Companies funded by KDDF will have access to Celerion’s experience in early clinical research and bioanalysis, as well as the global footprint of external partner sites. The agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), will support a sharing of knowledge between KDDF and Celerion, and will focus on developing innovative and efficient ways to bring Korean drug discoveries to the global market. The MOU further enhances both organizations’ ability to effectively apply principles of translational medicine to the development of new drugs, according to Celerion.
In March, Celerion announced the expansion of clinical operations to South Korea through a partnership with the Biomedical Research Institute at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH). Particularly geared toward clinical pharmacology, oncology, and pediatrics, the focus of the new SNUH Clinical Trials Center is translational medicine.
“The KDDF is very happy to have established a partnership with Celerion. This collaboration is aligned to our vision to build effective partnerships between government, industry, and academia,” said Dongho Lee M.D., CEO of KDDF. “Together with Celerion, KDDF will be able to provide professional consulting services to the Korean research communities to advance the research activities and promote important innovation.”