Yuhan (000100) is moving to secure the core technologies behind future innovative drugs by funding basic research at domestic institutions.
The company said on the 21st that it held the fourth Yuhan Innovation Program (YIP) Networking Day on the 18th at Willow House, a mixed-use cultural space built to mark its 100th anniversary.
YIP is an open innovation program dedicated to basic research that Yuhan has run since 2022. It funds basic research built on creative and innovative ideas from basic science researchers at domestic universities and public research institutes. The program is structured so that research results lead to follow-up collaboration with Yuhan.
About 50 people attended the event, including Chief Executive Officer Cho Wook-je and Kim Yeol-hong, president for research and development, along with R&D division executives, senior researchers and YIP principal investigators. They shared progress on research projects and discussed possibilities for further collaboration. Oral presentations on project progress were paired with a research poster display, and participants exchanged information and networked freely.
Thirteen new research projects were selected for the fourth round of YIP. Including projects chosen in the first through third rounds, a total of 76 research projects have received support to date. Six completed projects deemed to need additional funding, given their potential for drug development partnerships, are now receiving follow-up research support.
"New knowledge and creative ideas accumulated through basic research are the starting point for innovative drugs and their most important driving force," Cho said. "Through continued exchange, we will explore new scientific possibilities together and expand the foundation for collaboration aimed at creating innovative new drugs."
