Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Aekyung Industrial and Dongsung Pharmaceutical have inked a strategic MOU with Fudan University’s Yangtze River Research Institute, aiming to advance R&D in dermatology and beauty. The agreement, signed in Shanghai, underscores a growing cross-border collaboration in specialized healthcare innovation.
Aekyung Industrial (018250) and Dongsung Pharmaceutical announced on the 28th that they have signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Yangtze River Research Institute of Fudan University in China for collaboration in dermatology and beauty research and development (R&D).
The MOU was signed on the afternoon of the 27th at the Yangtze River Research Institute of Fudan University in Shanghai, China. From left: Jo Tae-hyun, Head of Taekwang Group’s Strategic Support Office; Choi Yong-seok, CEO of Dongsung Pharmaceutical; Hu Jianhua, Director of the Yangtze River Research Institute; and Kim Sang-joon, CEO of Aekyung Industrial. (Photo: Aekyung Industrial)
Through this agreement, both parties plan to establish a long-term cooperation framework in the fields of dermatology, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical/healthcare. They will share research capabilities, product development experience, and clinical/research networks to pursue technology commercialization.
Areas of collaboration include joint research on skin, scalp, and hair; skin data research by country, region, and ethnicity; development of new ingredients, formulations, and delivery technologies; clinical trials and efficacy/safety evaluations; AI-based skin and scalp database construction; research on hair loss and hair dyeing; patents and technology transfer; and entry into the Chinese and global markets.
Both sides will also review the possibility of joint R&D and production facility construction, joint venture establishment, and investment projects. Specific details on project content, roles, costs, and intellectual property rights will be finalized through separate contracts.
Taekwang Group will support the discovery of new cooperative projects and review of business structures, and will also promote the participation of other affiliates and domestic/overseas universities, hospitals, and research institutions as needed. The establishment of a joint steering committee and working-level consultative body is also under consideration to enhance execution capability.
Fudan University is a research-oriented university based in Shanghai, China. The Yangtze River Research Institute serves as an industry-academia cooperation hub responsible for technology transfer and commercialization of university research outcomes.