On July 8th, Pusan National University (PNU) announced that they had concluded a convention with Gyeongsang National University (GNU) for the inducement of the “K-Bio Lab Hub Construction Project” to establish a cooperation and operation for the future. Started by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, “K-Bio Lab Hub Construction Project” is a large-scale project which will invest about 350 billion won, beginning in 2023, to support new drug development start-up companies that will produce various remedies and vaccines. It is a convention to find the best place to develop thirdgeneration biopharmaceuticals that have various types and wider spectrums of treatments, including antibody drugs, cell therapeutics, and gene therapies The agreement aims to expand the growing base to overcome the smallness of local specialized biotechnology companies, and it includes establishing a foundation for business connection industrialization, solving obstacles to the commercialization of anti-aging biomaterials, establishing a production platform using smart cell factories, and finding new anti-aging biomaterials. Through this convention, PNU and GNU are expecting to have a synergy effect by cooperating in various aspects such as full-time professors holding concurrent positions, exchanging Korean genome information, commercializing technology, utilizing joint equipment, exchanging, and cultivating manpower, and establishing a common network.

* PK: PK means the area of Pusan (although these days, Busan is more widely used than Pusan) and KyeongNam (which is more commonly known as Gyeonsangam-do).