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Dr. Koo Lee, vice president of IBCC, to serve as a CEO
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2022-06-28

 

Vice President Koo Lee PhD, Promoted to CEO at Interpark Bio Convergence

Former CEO Jun Ho Hong transitions to GI Innovation as Vice President ahead of IPO





Interpark Bio Convergence (hereinafter referred to as Interpark Bio) has named Vice President Koo Lee PhD as its new CEO, with former CEO Jun Ho Hong moving to GI Innovation as Vice President.

 

An Interpark Bio representative announced on the 17th, "CTO Koo Lee has been promoted to CEO," and mentioned, "We will also undergo a restructuring process alongside recruiting new personnel."

 

Previously, Interpark Bio appointed Koo Lee PhD as CTO (Vice President) on January 15th, leveraging his expertise in new drug development. Just two months into his role as CTO, Lee has assumed the CEO position.

 

The newly appointed CEO earned a PhD in Organic Synthetic Chemistry from the University of Iowa and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry at Princeton University. He later held several positions at LG Life Sciences, such as Research Fellow at the New Drug Research Institute, Head of R&D Innovation Center, and Head of Quality Management Center.

 

During his tenure at Bridge Biotherapeutics, he served as the head of drug discovery, overseeing the preclinical development and IND application processes for the lung cancer drug candidate BBT-176, as well as conducting backup research for BBT-401, a drug candidate for ulcerative colitis. While serving as Executive Vice President (EVP) of Drug Discovery and Development at Kainos Medicine, he spearheaded the clinical preparation for the Parkinson's disease treatment candidate KM819, as well as the business development efforts for the AIDS treatment KM023.

 

Despite the change in CEO just six months after its establishment, Interpark Bio remains committed to advancing new drug development under new leadership. The company develops new drugs based on knowledge and experience accumulated in the field of organoids (artificial organs), selecting promising drug candidates, optimizing them with technology and talent, and integrating them through a project-based approach.

 

In October last year, it in-licensed an anticancer drug candidate from BiSiChem, a drug development company. The drug candidate is currently in preclinical development, with plans to commence clinical trials in advanced countries by next year. The royalty payment amounts to 10 billion won, distributed based on the developmental stage.

 

Earlier, in July last year, Interpark established its subsidiary, Interpark Bio Convergence, by spinning off the Bio Convergence Research Institute, appointing Jun Ho Hong as the corporation's representative.

 

Source: The Bell (https://www.thebell.co.kr/free/content/ArticleView.asp?key=202103171007345840105754&lcode=00)