Collaboration will Focus on Identifying Most Promising Research Emerging from Biotech Companies in Korea and U.S. for Licensing, Investment and Company Creation
Partnership Supports Orange Grove’s Strategy for International Growth While Providing Pipeline of Early-Stage Drug Development Investment Opportunities for SV Investment in U.S.
CINCINNATI, Ohio and SEOUL, Korea, Feb. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orange Grove Bio, a U.S.-based preclinical drug investment and development firm, and SV Investment, a Korea-based venture capital and private equity firm, today announced the establishment of a new partnership through which the companies will collaborate on jointly sourcing and developing novel therapeutics in the United States and Korea. As priority partners, the companies will cultivate the U.S. and Korean biotech landscape through technology licensing and company creation in their respective geographic areas.
Under terms of the partnership, SV Investment will leverage its relationships with biotech companies and academic institutions in Korea to identify licensing opportunities for promising early-stage research in the area of drug development. As part of the agreement, Marc Appel, chief executive officer of Orange Grove, will join SV Investment as a venture partner and will play a key role in evaluating the licensing opportunities that are identified at Korean biotech companies and universities. As appropriate, Orange Grove will work to license these technologies as a basis for life science company creation in the U.S., with SV Investment serving as an early-stage investor in the companies.
Additionally, Orange Grove will identify appropriate drug development licensing opportunities at U.S.-based academic institutions that SV Investment may pursue for development and company creation in Korea. To support these activities, as well as other investment opportunities, SV Investment has initiated the process of raising a new fund named SV Bio Platform Fund I.
“SV Investment is a premier firm in Korea and we are thrilled to be engaging in this partnership with their global investment leadership team. SV Investment has been supportive of Orange Grove Bio’s mission from the beginning, and we have collectively continued to seek opportunities to work together,” said Mr. Appel. “This new collaboration with SV Investment will be integral to Orange Grove Bio’s global mission to develop an international presence and to source and license promising technologies from Korean academic institutions and biotech companies.”
“We are eager to enter this international partnership with the team at Orange Grove Bio, as it will enable SV Investment to rapidly grow its footprint in the United States,” said Won-Ho Hong, chief executive officer of SV Investment. “With Orange Grove Bio’s expertise and network of relationships across the U.S., we believe this partnership will lead us to identify cross-border opportunities for investment earlier.”
Seo Lee, SV Investment’s director, added: “The collaboration formed between SV Investment and Orange Grove Bio will lead to progressive development of first-in-class technologies on an international scale for both parties.”
SV’s investment philosophy is to discover and develop promising companies and establish robust investment networks between startups in Korea and internationally. SV Investment’s management team prioritizes early discovery and lead investment into companies with high-growth potential and global expansion across borders. The firm has 19 years of experience providing support to companies via an extensive international network, helping companies through an initial public offering and enter into overseas markets.
Orange Grove Bio’s mission is to develop new therapeutic options for patients by harnessing the significant research potential found in universities across the United States. Orange Grove Bio fosters strong relationships with technology transfer offices outside of the traditional medical technology hubs of Boston and San Francisco. Collectively, Orange Grove Bio’s team possesses more than one hundred years of drug development and company creation experience, allowing it to build and finance innovative programs from the research and development stage to clinical trials.
About Orange Grove Bio
Orange Grove Bio (OGB) is an emerging, preclinical, capital allocation and asset development biotech company. OGB is headquartered at the 1819 Innovation Center, local to Cincinnati, Ohio. OGB partners with universities and entrepreneurs to develop innovative treatments for important diseases, particularly cancer and immune disorders.
About SV Investment
SV Investment is a Korean venture capital and private equity firm headquartered in Seoul, South Korea with international offices in Boston, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Singapore. The firm’s investment focus is in the area of life sciences, technology, consumer goods and entertainment. SV Investment finances companies and provides strategic guidance at critical stages of company development.
