The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) said Thursday that it has set up a branch office at the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Boston, Mass.

KHIDI USA Office will operate the support center to cooperate with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, hosting online briefings for domestic companies and promoting global partnerships.

To facilitate collaboration, the branch office will appoint a local expert as an external consultant to help Korean companies and strengthen the network among companies with a consultative body of Korean-American firms, the state agency said in a news release.

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-chul and the leaders of various industry groups sent their video messages to celebrate the event. 

Boston has an excellent talent pool educated from top universities, such as Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), well-developed projects for opening a start-up. The U.S. city also allows easier access to promote collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Novartis, with the world's best medical institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

University hospitals in Boston receive the most funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. In addition, the number of biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the area that went public increased by 110 percent compared to the previous year, accounting for 32 percent of all listings reported in the U.S.

"Our U.S. branch will play a key role in helping Korean pharmaceutical companies build up networks and exchange information and enter the U.S. market successfully," KHIDI USA Office Chief Representative Park Soon-mahn said."