The chief of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the strategic venture arm of the US health care giant leading the firm’s open innovation push, is to hold preliminary meetings with a number of South Korean biotech and medical tech firms this week.

Robert Urban, the global head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, told The Korea Herald Tuesday that his team would discuss Korea’s health care ecosystem and J&J’s innovation platform with four to five local biopharmaceutical companies and investor groups over the next two days.

The J&J executive declined to share further details of the planned meetings including the companies’ names or field of focus.

Urban is in Seoul to partake in this year’s Korea Pharma Associations Conference, one of the largest local industry events, centered on the theme of “global partnering for open innovation.”

Open innovation in the pharmaceutical industry refers to moving away from closed R&D models and instead partnering with external research institutes and startups to spur new drug and technology development.

J&J Innovation’s latest meetings in Korea come as it is preparing to open a new “innovation partnering office” for accelerating promising biotechnology and health care startups in Seoul by the year’s end. The office is set to operate under J&J Innovation’s Asia-Pacific branch.

The US pharma giant currently operates four innovation centers in the world’s life science hubs including Boston, California, London and the Asia-Pacific region to support and invest in early-stage biotech startups and collaborate with academic and research institutions.

At its Seoul office, J&J Innovation is expected to look for Korean startups aligned with the firm’s three core business areas -- pharmaceuticals, medical devices, global public health and consumer goods. It will announce details of the startup “grand challenge” program early next year, Urban said.

Looking ahead, the J&J Innovation global chief believes many new health care innovations will emerge from Korea, a country with an “advanced health care data management system and technology that focuses on convergence and advanced diagnostics.”

Urban also cited strong biologics development, in fields including stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, as well as an academic community with a robust data infrastructure as Korea’s core strengths in health care.

In addition to J&J, the top research and development executives from big pharma companies including Novartis, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Merck MGaA, Celgene, Amgen and MSD attended the KPAC.

The foreign executives also held business meetings with the chief executives of Korean pharma firms on the sidelines of the Tuesday conference, organizers said.

The KPAC, which ends Wednesday, was co-organized by the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association and the Korea Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)