Ajou University Hospital (AUH) has won a 750 million won ($663,700) in research subsidy from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for excellently carrying out R&D commercializing projects among research-oriented hospitals designated by the government.

After evaluating research-centered hospitals’ R&D projects last year and plans for this year, the government gives research money to those receiving excellent evaluations, helping to speed up such projects.

AUH won the research grant because it was recognized for its 2020 project, “Establishment of a full-cycle, open-type clinical mediation research service business model for the development of demand-based immunomodulators.” The project was led by Research-Oriented Hospital 1 Unit, headed by Director Park Hae-sim.

Through the project, AUH created a new startup, posted sales of 862 million won, and created 40 new jobs through the existing startups, such as EvidNet, Nanofaentech, and BUD.on, and earned a technology transfer fee of 1.7 billion won in 2020.

AUH plans to carry out the research project “Advanced commercialization of immune disease platform technology with the government incentives.”

The health and welfare ministry spends about 2.5 billion won annually on projects in collaboration with industry, academia, and research to help 10 research-oriented hospitals reach their research goals.

After being designated as a research-centered hospital by the ministry in April 2013, AUH has won the designation two more times consecutively in 2016 and 2019. The hospital is now studying the three-phased “Advancement of establishment of R&D virtuous cycle system.”