Bio Venture Startup Story: Focusing on Neuroventi Co., Ltd.

19-05-16

1. Company overview

Neuroventi is a bio-startup that develops and provides solutions for the prevention and treatment of brain dysfunction. It was founded in Seoul in 2015 through a university faculty start-up, obtained venture certification in the same year, and established a company-affiliated research center in December 2016 to conduct active R&D activities. are working on strengthening

A total of 30 new drugs are currently being developed in Korea as of 2018, including Kolon Life Sciences’ Invosate Inj. and CJ Healthcare’s K-Kep Tab. Permission Status, New Drug Development Research Association). Considering the market size of each disease group in the global pharmaceutical market, at least 5 to 6 new drugs should be drugs that act on central nervous system diseases. This fact indicates the technical, economic, and socio-cultural difficulties of developing central nervous system treatments. In fact, the government's investment by target disease in 2016 was KRW 67.4 billion for tumors (44.7% of new drug development for diseases), the largest, followed by infections and blood vessels with KRW 36.8 billion. 13.4 billion won for diseases, 9.2 billion won for arthritis, and less than 10 billion won even if degenerative brain diseases and mental diseases are combined. (KISTEP Statistical Brief: 2016 New Drug Development Government R&D Investment Portfolio Analysis, 2018, KISTEP)

Neuroventi Co., Ltd. is one of the few bio-startups in Korea that is trying to overcome these difficulties. there is. In the field of brain development disorder, there is no appropriate treatment (autism spectrum disorder) or, despite a very large marketability, existing treatments have various side effects, so there are obstacles to drug compliance and additional drug market growth (ADHD), which requires urgent research and development. is the field Neuroventi Co., Ltd. is attempting to develop a treatment by securing an animal model for such developmental disorder and discovering a new treatment target and action candidate drug through mechanism research and big data analysis. We are also promoting the supply of customized nutritional supplements. The most difficult part in the development process of drugs acting on the central nervous system is the pharmacokinetic difficulties such as BBB penetration and the diversity (spectrum, pharmacodynamic heterogeniety) of central disease causes, biological mechanisms, clinical symptoms, and treatment targets for each patient. In order to overcome these difficulties, Neuroventi Co., Ltd. is a more effective group selection for a specific subgroup rather than a one-size fits all medication strategy that can treat all patient groups using one type of medicine or health functional food. Strategies for drug development. To this end, we are developing products that can effectively respond to unmet medical needs through research and development using a omnidirectional in vitro and in vivo efficacy search and side effect search system for central disease treatment targets. This is a development strategy in line with the development trend of the precision medicine field, which is expected to grow from $38.4 billion in 2015 to $134.2 billion in 2025 at an average annual growth rate of 13.4% (Biotechnology Policy Research Center, 2017).

2. Startup story and growth process

go. Startup Story

In the process of preparing to return to Korea after completing her postdoctoral program at the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University in the United States, a voice in her heart asked her to research a developmental disorder called Autism, which was unfamiliar to the word. came across Upon investigation, there were a total of 7 papers published in Korea at the time, and even those papers were all case reports, so he knew this field as his vocation and conducted animal model development, risk factor identification, and pharmacological target identification research. While trying to find treatment candidates for autism spectrum disorder for which there is no suitable treatment, the decisive opportunity for entrepreneurship was to hold an autism symposium for scientists, therapists, childcare teachers, and people with ASD disabilities and their caregivers, which was hosted together with clinical doctors. came while Watching the majority of parents keep their seats until the symposium, which started early in the morning, was closed in the evening, I realized how urgent it is to develop an appropriate treatment method. Although the probability of success is not high, I decided to devote myself to advancing the time when treatment for developmental disorders is possible by using it for the development of a full-fledged treatment.

In Korea, since 2013, technology startups by teachers have been continuously increasing, and they account for the majority in terms of quality and number of startups compared to university students, graduate students, and ordinary people. This increase in entrepreneurship is largely attributable to the activation of entrepreneurship support organizations such as government support policies, maintenance and support of faculty entrepreneurship procedures at each university, and entrepreneurship incubation centers. business establishment was completed.

A typical faculty technology start-up procedure consists of application for start-up approval, permission for concurrent position (or leave of absence), securing on-campus or off-campus start-up space, and company establishment. (competent tax office) will complete the establishment of the startup. At this stage, if necessary, it is necessary to consult with a lawyer or judicial scrivener, request establishment, and implement corporate tax affairs through a contract with a tax accountant. A few years ago, the start-up process took a long time and was inconvenient depending on the school, but now most universities have a well-organized system, so there is no great difficulty in establishing a company. One thing to note is the establishment of the corporate name. In many cases, corporate names and company logos that represent technology are used without much thought, but they can cause many problems later in various aspects such as trademark rights and homepages. It is good to confirm the corporate name and logo after confirmation.

me. Growth strategy and process

In order for a startup to grow, it is necessary to solve some important issues in advance. First of all, it is good to acquire knowledge related to the start-up process and early business growth. Recently, various educational programs for the development of basic business models and growth strategies, such as entrepreneurship education and consulting, are provided by school-based startup support centers, health industry innovation startup centers, government agencies and local government startup clusters such as Seoul Bio Hub, Korea Bio Association, and Korea Pharmaceutical. Through various associations and research associations, such as the Bio Association and the New Drug Development Research Association, and various educational support programs such as the Bio i-Core project of the Ministry of Science and ICT, you can receive education and support for entrepreneurship and early growth. In order to reduce trial and error after starting a business, it is necessary to faithfully receive such entrepreneurship-related education before starting a business to minimize the probability of failure that a Don Quixote-style start-up can have.

All processes of selecting, discovering, and enhancing the value of technologies and patents to be used in corporate activities after founding must be carried out as thoroughly as possible. In many cases, patents obtained through university research activities are still at a rudimentary level to lead to commercialization and development. Either increase the possibility of development success through the development, or attract investment after starting a business to conduct value-enhancing research and development. Such technology value enhancement research will include basic toxicity research, pharmacokinetic research, clinical feasibility studies such as biomarkers, and basic pharmacological research in the case of biotechnology. In this respect, market analysis, unmet demand analysis, and derivation of business models are very important issues along with the improvement of technological maturity, and if possible, securing the technology value evaluation of the technology to be used in the business in advance will be helpful for initial growth. Technology value evaluation is usually assisted by a patent law firm, which costs a lot of money. Based on this analysis, Neuroventi Co., Ltd.'s patents related to autism received the highest score in business feasibility items such as technology excellence, technological competitiveness, rights stability, and market growth, and technical items such as technology lifespan, innovation, differentiation, and scope of rights. It is very helpful in promoting development and attracting investment.

In addition, if possible, technology for corporate growth is used as a platform technology rather than a one-time patent, and patents that can be supplied continuously through pipelines are advantageous for attracting investment and developing, so it is necessary to pay attention to the composition of the patent portfolio. For example, recent venture investors prefer to invest in companies with high-efficiency technologies for discovering materials or technologies for discovering new material lines that have never existed before, rather than companies based on single-shot drugs and functional food materials. will have to consider

Most startups are required to obtain venture business certification upon completion of business establishment. The most important part at this time is the company's technology.