On the 25th (local time), at the Torrey Pines life sciences cluster in northern San Diego, United States. Located about a 20-minute drive from the San Diego Convention Center, where BIO USA, the world’s largest bio event, is being held, this area is one of the representative U.S. bio clusters alongside Boston and San Francisco. Heading into the campus, a building bearing global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s red “Lilly” logo came into view. This is the San Diego hub of Lilly Gateway Labs (LGL), which Eli Lilly operates to foster early-stage biotechs in close proximity. LGL currently has five locations in the United States and two in China. A new LGL hub will open in Songdo, Incheon in July next year.

LGL is an “open innovation” platform that leases research space to early-stage biotechs and provides consulting. In simple terms, it is a model in which a big pharma company does not rely solely on internal R&D, but instead identifies promising technologies at external biotechs at an early stage and develops them together.

The LGL San Diego hub, as observed that day, differed from a typical rental laboratory. Tenant companies were using spaces where offices, meeting rooms, and laboratories were connected, and the layout allowed walls to be removed and space expanded, accommodating firms ranging from small companies with around 10 employees to those with up to 30 employees. In addition to laboratories equipped with a range of shared high-value instruments, free microscopy equipment, cell culture rooms, and sterilization and washing facilities were also available. On the second floor was a “social hub” where tenants could have lunch or hold informal meetings. Seminars and networking events involving Eli Lilly researchers and external experts are also held in this space.

An Eli Lilly representative explained, “There are currently 10 companies based at the San Diego hub, covering a wide range of fields from neuroscience, oncology, and immunology to cell therapies, small- and large-molecule drugs, and genetic medicine.”

The defining feature of LGL is that it goes beyond simply “providing research space.” Verena Stocker, Head of LGL Europe (Vice President), said, “Gateway Labs is a model launched to create points of contact with Eli Lilly before early-stage companies enter the clinical phase,” adding, “Since its inception in 2019, more than 400 companies have gone through LGL, and over 150 new drug research projects are currently underway.”

The LGL model is scheduled to launch in Songdo, Incheon next year. Samsung Biologics and Eli Lilly are preparing “LGL Incheon (C-Lab Outside)” within the Songdo Second Bio Campus, targeting completion in July 2027. This will be the first time a global pharmaceutical company’s open innovation program has entered Korea in cooperation with a domestic company.

The facility will be a five-story building with a total floor area of approximately 12,000㎡ (about 3,600 pyeong), and will accommodate up to 30 early- and mid-stage biotechs. The basic tenancy period will be two years, extendable to a maximum of four years. Companies that have already formed strategic partnerships with global big pharma firms are excluded from eligibility. For domestic biotechs, this effectively creates a channel to simultaneously access big pharma R&D networks and manufacturing experts.

Tenant companies will be jointly selected by Lilly and Samsung Biologics. Lee Sang-myeong, Executive Director of the Open Innovation Center at Samsung Biologics, said, “From the selection of tenants to training programs and operating methods, the two companies will make joint decisions,” adding, “We will provide promising domestic biotechs with top-tier research environments and growth opportunities aligned with global standards.”

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