LSN Partners with KOTRA to Bring 9 Promising K-Startups to Digital RESI June

By Claire Jeong, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

For the upcoming Digital Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference from June 8 -10^th, Life Science Nation (LSN) is working with the Korea-Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to support a delegation of 9 Korean companies. KOTRA has been a proud sponsor of RESI for three consecutive years, and we are happy that they are leveraging our global platform to support international expansion of promising Korean technologies.

As with previous years, we have a diverse representation across therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. Among these companies, Cipherome and THE.WAVE.TALK were also selected as Innovation Challenge finalists, which speaks for the quality of their technology.

KOTRA has created a webpage dedicated to this “K-Startups” Program.

Please visit http://www.kotrastartups.com for more information on the 9 participating companies.

Below are brief descriptions of KOTRA and the Korean delegation (click on the logos to learn more):

KOTRA is a Korean government agency dedicated to promoting international trade and investment, drive the nation’s economic development, and build prosperity for the global community. Through its 129 offices in 84 countries, KOTRA serves small and medium-sized Korean enterprises looking to tap into the overseas markets. Cultivating innovation and building a vibrant, sustainable startup ecosystem is key to reaching the next stage of Korea’s economic growth. To that end, KOTRA is committed in mentoring rising startup companies and providing institutional support to facilitate their continued success.

Medical Innovation Developer Co.,Ltd. is a company organized for radiogical technologists specializing in research and development. They develop visual aids based on AI and have recently developed a chest X-ray radiography auto decipher (DxRAD), checking lung conditions of normal, abnormal, TB, COPD, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and even Covid-19. The advantage of their product is that DxRAD can read and deliver results automatically because it is based on AI. They plan to move forward and develop an ultrasonic image auto decipher, CT image automatic decipher, and an MRI image auto decipher.

Biorchestra develops RNA-based therapeutics that regulate the interaction between micro RNA and messenger RNA. They have two platforms that enable multi-regulation of messengerRNA (mRNA) using microRNA antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) and single mRNA regulation through optimal expression system of mRNA. The RNA drug candidates developed through the platform can implement efficient RNA drug delivery by applying their proprietary drug delivery system technology. BMD-001 (Alzheimer’s disease treatment), to which this technology is applied, is a treatment that applies a drug delivery system passing through the blood brain barrier (BBB) to the brain cells.

Sky Labs, Inc. has developed a Software Reconfigurable Medical AI Platform to detect Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and measure blood pressure, SpO2 and much more. The platform consists of a ring-type medical wearable device, CART (Cardio Tracker), mobile app, doctor web, and cloud server. With a simple ring-type device, CART, patients in their daily life can collect their cardiac signals autonomously and comfortably without any user intervention. Sky Labs has medical device approval from the Korean FDA and expects to have a medical device CE mark for their product in the first half of this year. Sky Labs is currently preparing for US FDA approval and are developing diagnostic features such as heart failure, sleep apnea, COPD, and more. These new products will be released in the summer of 2021.

THE.WAVE.TALK’s mission statement is “The Startup Who Saved The Most Lives On Earth.” They make efforts every day to achieve this mission statement. They have developed a new technology that can rapidly detect foreign substances inside liquid including bacteria using a laser light scattering technique. Using this technology, it’s possible to conduct a urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnosis within 30 minutes while the conventional culturing method takes 24~48 hours. They can also conduct antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) MIC in 3~5 hours whereas the conventional culturing method takes 24~48 hours. Last but not least, their technology is cost-effective and easy to use.

World Class, Leading Quality! -Production & Supply of Human-oriented Dental and Medical Products-

In 2013, Hudens produced and supplied dental products that prioritized patient needs. Following the successful commercialization of their dental carbide burs, they are now recognized as one of the globally leading dental equipment manufacturers, best-known for their unrivaled high-quality products. With their concentration and continuous R&D in the field of dental materials (such as bone substitutes, polymeric resins, dental porcelain and ceramics, burs and alloys) and equipment, they continue to pioneer and lead the global industry. In order to remain at the forefront of the ever-changing market, Hudens promises to prioritize in continuing technological innovation and satisfying customer needs.

Cipherome is a software-based pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics company focused on accurately predicting personalized adverse drug reactions (ADRs) using patented genomic analysis technology. Cipherome has developed XentinelTM technology, a comprehensive drug safety solution with a unique patented ADR risk assessment platform. They are planning to launch 3 products: Xentinel Rx™ , Xentinel Discovery™ , Xentinel Dx™ based on the requirements for each solution.

INTIN, a Philips Healthcare Challenge Runner-up, is a digital healthcare company that develops and manufactures certified self-diagnostic medical devices. The main device, OVIEW-M, is a smart sperm test device that can check the count and activity status of one’s sperm via a smartphone application. More importantly, the device helps save the time and money of visiting a hospital for a sperm checkup. INTIN has attracted over $30 million in investments.

iMediSync Inc. is an engaging QEEG-centered digital mental care platform to develop and serve the EEG biomarkers in neuropsychiatric disorders such as dementia, depression, ADHD for preventive, predictive and integrative mental care, and successful clinical trial of drug development. iMediSync Inc. develops software that supports the diagnosis of dementia by analyzing EEG in less than 5 minutes called iSyncBrain. This risk-assessment software can both be provided to the patient in receiving EEG, and also by a doctor when considering diagnosis and treatment. The company has collected healthy subjects’ EEG for 8 years and developed an algorithm using an AI technology. In the software, the patient’s EEG are uploaded to a cloud platform and then visualized to brain mapping. Major quantitative EEG indices, such as absolute band power, relative band power, spectra, abnormal peak information, band power ratio, asymmetry, coherence and source level networks are provided though iSyncBrain.

MediConnect uses smart sensors and state-of-the-art computer vision in the home to diagnose and manage health issues before they become a problem. Data gathered by RGB-D camera arrays mounted in the home analyze posture, gait, emotion, and diagnosed/un-diagnosed conditions. Furthermore, events such as falls or other accidents are detected and an automatic notification is sent to relatives and medical professionals.