Officials from Inha University Hospital and affiliated organizations pose for a group photo at the "2026 Bio Forest Day" event held Wednesday. [Inha University Hospital]
Officials from Inha University Hospital and affiliated organizations pose for a group photo at the "2026 Bio Forest Day" event held Wednesday. [Inha University Hospital]

Inha University Hospital is stepping up its role as an industry-academia-hospital cooperation platform to foster the regional biohealth sector and commercialize medical technology.

The hospital hosted "2026 Bio Forest Day" at the Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel in Songdo, Incheon, on Wednesday, sharing the results of its open laboratory operations and discussing ways to advance the regional biotech industry.

The event was organized by Inha University Hospital's open laboratory and sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Incheon City.

About 100 people attended, including Inha University President Cho Myung-woo, Inha University Medical Center President and Inha University Hospital Director Lee Taek, Open Laboratory Operations Project Director Choi Gwang-seong, former Health and Welfare Minister Kwon Deok-cheol, Incheon Deputy Mayor for Global City Affairs Nam Yeong-hui, and representatives from biotech companies and research institutions.

In his welcoming remarks, Lee said hospitals must go beyond simply providing medical care and become platforms where biotech companies can validate their technologies in real clinical settings and bring them to market.

He went on to say the hospital would continue building cloud-based systems and organoid-based clinical trial environments so that companies with strong technologies would not lose growth opportunities due to difficulties in the clinical trial process.

Inha University Hospital has operated an open laboratory since last year, when it received research-focused hospital certification from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The hospital opens its clinical infrastructure and research capabilities to biohealth companies, with a particular focus on supporting the validation of medical technologies in actual clinical settings.

Interest from companies was strong from the program's first year. More than 30 firms applied to participate, and 20 were selected after review. Through additional recruitment, 26 companies are now receiving support this year.

The range of supported fields has also expanded — from AI, digital healthcare, medical devices, physical AI, regenerative medicine and drug development to aerospace medicine, a specialty area of Inha University Hospital.

Results are becoming tangible. Medical devices validated at the hospital have received regulatory approval and entered the market, and companies that secured clinical data have successfully attracted follow-on investment.

The hospital has also gained access to new technologies needed for essential regional healthcare and identified new research projects in the process.

Participants agreed that building an industrial ecosystem in which hospitals, companies, universities, research institutions and government agencies work closely together is essential to strengthening the competitiveness of the biohealth sector.

Inha University Hospital plans to expand technology commercialization support tied to government policy, strengthen its industry-academia-hospital cooperation framework, and accelerate the development of a global research network — all with the aim of growing into a key hub for Incheon's biohealth industry.

"If last year was about laying the groundwork for the bio ecosystem, this year we are focused on creating an environment where participating companies can take the next step forward," Choi said. "We will continue to support companies so they can understand the clinical environment, successfully validate their technologies and establish themselves in the market."


gilbert@heraldcorp.com