SK Chemicals and AbbVie Korea receive biohealth innovation awards

SK Chemicals and AbbVie Korea have both received Minister of Health and Welfare commendations for their contributions to the biohealth global open innovation ecosystem. These awards were presented during the ‘2026 Global Open Innovation Week-Biohealth’ held in Seoul.

SK Chemicals was recognized for its successful collaboration with AstraZeneca to co-develop a diabetes combination drug. The company leveraged its production capabilities at its Cheongju plant while utilizing its partner's global regulatory and sales networks. This partnership resulted in the commercialization of Sidapvia in over 10 countries across Asia and Latin America.

AbbVie Korea was honored for connecting promising domestic biotech companies with its global R&D and business development networks. Through its collaboration with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), the company launched the ‘KHIDI-AbbVie Biotech Innovator Award,’ providing mentoring and R&D advisory services to selected firms to strengthen the competitiveness of the Korean biotech sector.