A representative success story of Gangwon National University's BRIDGE Project (supporting the commercialization of creative university assets) is ‘Dr. Oregonin,’ which identifies promising technology held by university faculty and brings it to commercialization.
In June of this year, the company gained attention by signing a supply contract worth $4.5 million. It was founded by Professor Choi Seon-eun from the Department of Forest Biomaterials Engineering in 2022. The company has launched 15 types of anti-aging complex products, using ingredients extracted from native alder trees, aimed at treating and improving sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and obesity.
This company was born through the technology commercialization process established by Gangwon National University, which includes discovering valuable assets, developing and designing business models (BM), securing investments through investor relations (IR), and supporting domestic and international marketing.
The BRIDGE Project team at Gangwon National University supported Professor Choi’s startup after recognizing the outstanding therapeutic effects of this technology developed through the Korea Forest Service's "Standardization of Functional Forest Resources Technology Development" project, which is both free of allergens and side effects.
After the company was founded, the university transferred related patented technology held by its industry-academic cooperation foundation. This technology transfer contract was valued at 430 million KRW in royalties. Following this, the university began supporting investment attraction and linking with national R&D projects.
The company received support to focus on research through selections such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ TIPS program, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation’s U-Tech Valley program, the R&BD (Research & Business Development) project in the Gangwon Chuncheon Innopolis, the early-stage startup package and startup leap package from Gangwon National University's Startup-centered University Business Group, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy's R&D Rediscovery Project.
The BRIDGE Project team has also put efforts into marketing the launched products.