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)