“Many bio companies encounter gaps in the new drug development process. BXPLANT aims to grow as an open innovation platform that connects these gaps within the bio ecosystem.”
As the bio industry emerges as the next-generation growth engine, the question of how to conduct drug development beyond simple new drug development has become a key challenge. With limited resources, R&D strategies with strategy and efficiency can increase early clinical success probability. In this context, one company has stepped up to the challenge of solving network absence under the banner of CDRO (Clinical Development and Research Organization) and Scalerator in the bio healthcare sector: BXPLANT.
Synergy from Two Former Daewoong Leaders
BXPLANT is a portmanteau of ‘BIO Transformation’ and ‘Plant,’ representing a system that plans and realizes transformation in the bio industry. The company was co-founded by Co-CEO Minkeun Jo, who served as Business Unit Director of Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s Consumer Healthcare Division, and Co-CEO Heesun Kim, who was Head of Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s Clinical Development Center. The company aims to provide customized consulting to companies, from identifying promising startups to R&D consulting, clinical trials, business development, and investment attraction.
CEO Jo explained, “Many companies still face significant difficulties due to lack of R&D development strategy, shortage of clinical and preclinical research support personnel, and limitations in technology commercialization network connections. CDRO integrates clinical development with CRO (Contract Research Organization), aiming to meet market demands through total clinical development services across the full new drug development cycle.”
The strength of BXPLANT, created by two CEOs who have accumulated over 20 years of diverse experience in the industry including Daewoong Pharmaceutical, lies in their understanding of the industry. In particular, considering that the bio industry ecosystem requires developing new drugs that connect from research to commercialization, the experience of CEO Jo and CEO Kim is expected to create synergy.
CEO Kim stated, “Bio ventures work on difficult technologies but find it challenging to have development personnel for all processes, and compared to pharmaceutical companies, they often only have research functions. Since various other functions are needed for new drug development, we believe BXPLANT has a role to play in this regard.”
Materializing BXPLANT’s Strengths
Based on the synergy of the two CEOs, BXPLANT’s highlighted strength is its ability to serve as the connecting link for gaps expressed as the clinical stage cliff. To achieve this, the company emphasizes open innovation. The vision is to actively utilize open innovation, which has established itself as a necessity rather than an option in the bio ecosystem.
CEO Jo emphasized, “Even global big pharma companies have hit limits with in-house research alone and are conducting open innovation not only with competing pharmaceutical companies but also with numerous bio ventures. To create R&D strategies that include numerous elements, we are signing agreements with partners and realizing common goals.”
Beyond Simple Consulting
Separately, the fact that customized consulting has already established itself as a familiar model in the bio field could act as a hurdle for BXPLANT. This is because many companies already operate businesses that review each company’s clinical trials and propose solutions.
Regarding this, CEO Kim mentioned the ability to actually implement beyond proposing solutions through consulting. CEO Kim stated, “While insight and strategy for clinical design are emphasized so that the unique characteristics of a company’s assets can be well expressed, the ability to prepare strategies to maximize value regardless of what assets come is necessary. The mindset of being a partner who advises and works together to determine the best direction for developing bio venture assets is important.”
In conclusion, this means avoiding simple consulting while focusing on understanding requirements from the client’s perspective and adjusting the company’s strategy. CEO Jo stated, “I believe it’s necessary to clearly present what works and what doesn’t. Rather than investing recklessly, even if not entering clinical trials, proper development strategy must be established for subsequent results.”
Aiming to Be a Bridge Where Technology Doesn’t Go to Waste
Currently, BXPLANT places the greatest emphasis on clinical development strategy formulation. The company is proceeding not only with clinical strategy but also with regulatory affairs (RA), CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control), and preclinical toxicity, targeting Phase 1 IND (Investigational New Drug) approval. Next is CRO work, with Phase 1, 2, and 4 clinical contracts in progress. For investment business, the company has completed accelerator registration and secured about 2 billion KRW in investment resources.
CEO Jo stated, “We plan to continue investing from early startups with excellent ideas to biotech companies about to enter clinical trials. We will form a bio venture fund within the year to provide investment opportunities to more bio companies.”
The company set revenue of 3.5 billion KRW for this year and has plans to prepare for IPO (Initial Public Offering) between 2026 and 2028 in the long term. The goal is to rapidly raise company revenue to around 20 billion KRW during this period.
Vision for Bio Transformation
Finally, both CEOs expressed their ambition for BXPLANT to leap forward as a company that overcomes difficulties together with bio ventures and leads bio transformation.
CEO Kim stated, “Since each bio venture’s substance has its own characteristics and advantages, if there is a fitting strategy, it can definitely reach the market. We hope to achieve transformation by finding and helping technologies so they are not shelved but released.”
CEO Jo added, “New drug development is a long journey of 10-15 years, and like a marathon, someone must be a pacemaker alongside. Someone must play that role, and BXPLANT is working with people who have such capabilities.”
source : BXPLANT Co-CEOs Minkeun Jo and Heesun Kim: “We Dream of Being the Bridge for Bio Transformation”, Byeong-woo Hwang, Bloter, 2024.05.27., https://www.bloter.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=616757
