Seegene and Springer Nature Announce Awardees for the Open Innovation Program

• 26 submissions selected from a total of 281 applications from 47 countries to diagnose infectious and vector-borne diseases
• Awardees representing 12 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, will receive research grants of up to USD 600,000 per project
• As part of the Seegene's technology-sharing initiative, SG OneSystem Business™ aims to promote participation from the global scientific community, laying the groundwork to 'realize a world free from all diseases'

SEOUL, South Korea, March 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seegene Inc. (KQ096530), a leading South Korean company providing a total solution for PCR molecular diagnostics, and Springer Nature, a world-leading provider of services to the research community, unveiled the final list of participants for the diagnostic reagent development project on March 15, 2024(GMT), through the online platform of the Open Innovation Program (https://openinnovation.seegene.com/open-innovation/2023-2024-announcements/).

In September 2023, Seegene and Springer Nature opened applications to scientists and experts across the global community to conduct research for the 15 designated projects to develop Seegene's syndromic qPCR diagnostics assay reagents for the Open Innovation Program.

During the initial stage of document screening, a total of 281 applications were submitted from 47 different countries, demonstrating worldwide interest in the program. Two rounds of evaluations, which included document assessment and on-site evaluations specific to each country were conducted. Following the rigorous assessment process, a total of 26 applications were selected. The total number of selected awardees is 17, including those who applied for more than one project.  

Selected designated projects and the final number of awardees are as follows:

• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI): 3 projects, 9 awardees
• Dermatophyte: 1 project, 3 awardees
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI): 1 project, 2 awardees
• Vaginitis Screening: 1 project, 1 awardee
• Respiratory Panel (viral and bacterial respiratory infections): 2 projects, 2 awardees
• Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Typing: 1 project, 2 awardees
• Tick-borne Diseases: 1 project, 1 awardee
• Tropical Fever Virus (mosquito-borne tropical fever viruses): 1 project, 2 awardees
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): 1 project, 3 awardees
• Multidrug-resistant Organisms: 1 project, 1 awardee

The Open Innovation Program resulted in awardees from a total of 12 countries with the following distribution: Belgium (3), the Netherlands (1), Germany (2), Italy (3), Portugal (1), Canada (3), the United States (3), Mexico (2), Argentina (1), UAE (3), South Korea (3), and Kenya (1). (Figures in parenthesis denote the number of projects selected)

The awardees will receive research grants of up to USD 600,000 per project. Furthermore, Seegene will provide syndromic qPCR reagents, extraction reagents, development system (SGDDS), test instrument (AIOS), and related software free of charge throughout the collaboration period.

Developing products that encapsulate the knowledge and experience of scientists from around the globe is essential to achieve the overarching vision: 'A World Free from All Diseases.' The inaugural Open Innovation Program marks the initial step in this endeavor.                                                                                                                                                       

"Attracting numerous exceptional applicants from diverse backgrounds, the evaluations present an invaluable opportunity to cultivate a robust global network of clinical trial collaborations." said Dr. Jik Young Park, Head of Seegene's Development Automation. Dr. Park served as a member of the panel responsible for reviewing the submitted applications.

The Open Innovation Program forms an integral part of Seegene's broader technology-sharing initiative, the SG OneSystem Business™ which debuted in 2023 and aligns with the company's vision of realizing a "world free from all diseases."

The SG OneSystem Business™ involves the dissemination of Seegene's extensive expertise and knowledge accumulated over 20 years. The initiative includes collaborating with representative institutions from each country, to effectively develop diagnostic products tailored to meet the needs of the local market.

In pursuit of this vision, Seegene has further bolstered its SG OneSystem Business™ through the strategic collaboration with Microsoft in January 2024, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to advancing global healthcare solutions. Seegene's Digitalized Development System (SGDDS), which enables less experienced researchers to develop assays, will integrate Microsoft Azure services, including Azure OpenAI Service.

About Seegene

Seegene has 23 years of dedicated R&D, manufacturing and business experience around syndromic quantitative PCR technologies, which was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when it provided over 340 million COVID-19 tests to more than 100 countries worldwide. The core feature of Seegene's unique syndromic PCR technologies is the ability to simultaneously test 14 pathogens that cause similar symptoms in a single tube and provide quantitative information on the infectivity profile to correlate with the severity of illness.