[San Diego (U.S.) = E-Daily Reporter SONG YOUNG-DOO ] There is an unlisted biotech venture in which #Samsung, #HYUNDAI BIOSCIENCE CO., LTD., and KOLON CORPORATION(002020)have invested, and which has signed supply contracts with global Big Pharma companies and is already generating actual revenue.

As a genomic analysis company with irreplaceable technology, its annual revenue is approaching 100억 won. This is InnoCrass, which was founded in South Korea in 2020 and moved its headquarters to San Diego, USA, in 2022. Armed with proprietary technology that analyzes the entire genome—amounting to 200 GB (60 times the human genome)—per cancer patient, the company is collaborating with the Broad Institute of Harvard and pursuing entry into the U.S. Medicare market, drawing attention from the global precision medicine industry.

“First-in-class” in the genomic analysis and diagnostics market... ““Data Is an Asset”

Lee Jeong-seok, CEO of InnoCras, met with Edaily in San Diego, the host city of the Bio International Convention (Bio USA)—the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotech event—and stated, “Our business is not simply about genetic testing; it’s about accumulating data.” He added, “Ultimately, the precision medicine and new drug development markets will be led by companies that secure the largest volume of high-quality data.”

Innocras is a genomic analysis company founded in Korea in 2020 by physician-scientists from KAIST. In 2022, the company established its headquarters in San Diego, USA, to expand its global operations. The move was intended to use San Diego—a world-class biotech hub—as a base to simultaneously expand diagnostic services for hospitals and research projects with global pharmaceutical companies.

“I believed that if we had the technological capabilities, we needed to be validated in the largest market,” he said. “Although we started in Korea, we’ve been growing the business with the goal of becoming a global company from the very beginning.”

In fact, the company has secured investments from major South Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai, and KOLON CORPORATION, as well as leading venture capital firms. It has also signed a supply contract with a major global pharmaceutical company (Company A) to provide research services and generate revenue. Last year’s revenue was approximately 9.5 billion won, and the company expects to exceed 10 billion won this year.

Innocras analyzes the tissue and blood samples of cancer patients and provides genomic diagnostic reports to hospitals. This service identifies appropriate treatments and prognosis for patients. However, the company’s real focus is not the diagnostic service itself, but rather the vast amount of genomic data collected during the diagnostic process.

CEO Lee explained, “Every time we add one more patient, the company’s data assets grow as well,” adding, “Diagnostics generate revenue, while data creates future corporate value. Ultimately, we are not a genetic testing company but a data platform company.” It is precisely this data, along with its utility and business scalability, that attracted investments from Samsung, Hyundai, and KOLON CORPORATION. In particular, the company has signed a contract with global Big Pharma Company A and is generating related revenue.

Innocras’s core competitive advantage lies in whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Most existing cancer genetic tests use a panel sequencing approach, which selects and analyzes only certain genes associated with cancer. While this method is less costly and time-consuming, it has limitations in the scope of analysis.

In contrast, InnoCrass reads the entire genome—amounting to approximately 200 GB per cancer patient. CEO Lee likened the two approaches, saying, “If conventional panel testing is like glancing at a summary before an exam, whole-genome sequencing is like reading a textbook from cover to cover.” He explained that this approach allows for the detection of genetic mutations and structural abnormalities that might be missed by conventional tests, making it highly valuable for precision medicine and the development of next-generation drugs.

Whole-genome analysis is not merely a technology for reading DNA. The key lies in how accurately specimens used in actual clinical settings are analyzed. Cancer tissue samples collected in hospitals are mostly stored in formalin. Because DNA is damaged and fragmented during this process, the industry has traditionally considered it difficult to perform accurate whole-genome analysis on FFPE (formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded) tissue.

Irreplaceable Genomic Analysis and Diagnostic Technology... Business Prospects Expanding with Medicare Coverage This Year

Innocras changed its approach. By conducting large-scale comparative analyses of FFPE and fresh tissue samples from the same patients, the company identified the damage patterns caused by preservatives and developed a technology to correct for them using AI algorithms.

CEO Lee stated, “The key is that we didn’t change the fixatives or chemical treatments; rather, we used data to eliminate errors,” adding, “Innocras’s unique competitive advantage lies in its ability to perform clinical-grade whole-genome analysis even on FFPE tissue.”

Anyone can now acquire equipment to sequence genomes. However, interpreting the resulting data meaningfully is another matter entirely. Analyzing the whole-genome sequence of a single cancer patient reveals hundreds of thousands of genetic mutations. Identifying among these the mutations that actually cause cancer or are associated with responses to specific treatments requires a vast amount of clinical data.

“Just because you’ve read the entire textbook doesn’t mean you’ll do well on the exam,” he emphasized. “True competitiveness lies in the ability to find the important answers within that information, and ultimately, the genomics industry is a competition based on how much data has been accumulated and interpreted.” He explained that this is why global Big Pharma companies are partnering with Inokras—not simply for its analytical technology, but for its accumulated data assets.

Inokras’s technological capabilities have led to a collaboration with the Harvard Broad Institute, one of the world’s leading genomic research institutions. The two parties conducted joint research to advance the cancer genomics database to a whole-genome level and presented their findings at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference.

Currently, the company is focusing its efforts on securing coverage approval from the U.S. Medicare program. Once listed on Medicare, the number of patients at U.S. hospitals will increase, leading to the accumulation of more genomic data. This accumulated data, in turn, creates a virtuous cycle that leads to further research and collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies.

CEO Lee stated, “We are building a flywheel structure where we acquire patients through diagnostic services; as the patient base grows, data accumulates; and that data, in turn, leads to collaborations with Big Pharma and business expansion.” He added, “Ultimately, the company that secures the largest volume of high-quality data will lead the era of precision medicine.”