The largest number of domestic ventures and startups that won the Innovation Award at CES 2024 held in Las Vegas from the 9th to the 12th were counted as 116, the largest ever. In particular, domestic startups are drawing attention by sweeping innovation awards in the “Human Security for All (HS4A)” field, a key theme of CES.

The U.S. Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which is responsible for the CES, has selected human security as an important topic at this year’s CES as well as last year. Human security is a concept in which dignity and peace are protected only when human life is enriched in various ways such as △ food △ medical care △ environment △ safety.

Although some pointed out that it does not match CES, a high-tech exhibition hall, human security is drawing attention as an important pillar of the future industry after the CTA embodied it as a concept suitable for CES, saying, “It is solving problems with high-tech technology in terms of sustainability.”

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the CTA on the 7th, 313 companies (379 products) around the world received the CES 2024 Innovation Award in 28 fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), digital health, smart city, and robotics, as of the 4th. Among them, 134 Korean companies (158 products), including large and medium-sized ones, accounted for 42.8 percent of the total. The number of award-winning companies is expected to increase further as additional announcements are still to be made.

Among the domestic companies that received the Innovation Award, 116 ventures and startups were awarded last year (111). The number of ventures and startups that received the Best Innovation Award also increased from five last year to seven this year.

In particular, a total of 16 companies were listed in the field of human security among the innovation awards, and as many as 12 companies (75%) were found to be domestic startups. The CES Innovation Award is an award given to products with excellent technology and innovation among products submitted at CES.

LynkSolutec, a medical device manufacturer using nanotechnology, has developed a special coating technology that can prevent blood adhering or fogging to endoscopic lenses, obstructing a doctor’s vision. According to the CTA, this can improve surgical safety and the accuracy of patient treatment.

“At this year’s CES, the concept of human security that solves global problems with technology will become important in terms of sustainability,” CTA CEO Gary Shapiro said. “I believe that many human and human security issues can be solved with technology. Technology can be a solution for innovation.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to increase support, saying that 91 (78.4%) out of 116 ventures and startups that won the Innovation Award participated in start-up support projects such as “TIPS,” a private investment-led technology development support project, and commercialization support.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, “Our venture and start-up were able to achieve the highest performance ever at CES 2024 because of the company’s innovative efforts and government support,” adding, “We will support domestic start-ups to show excellent technology and innovation capabilities around the world and create new business opportunities overseas through CES.”

Clear Endo Vision, developed by medical device company LynkSolutec has been won for two categories (Digital Health and Product in support of Human Security) of the 2024 CES Innovation Awards.

CES is the world’s largest IT and electronic fair organized by the American Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and is held in Las Vegas early every year to award innovation awards to next-generation products that will lead the world’s technology.

The product that won two awards at CES is an endoscopic cap that provides a clean view through nanotechnology. The problem of obstructing the view due to fogging and bleeding during the endoscopy is a chronic problem that the medical community has experienced for a long time. To solve this problem, the doctor must wash the lens himself or apply anti-fog agents in short cycles, which increased the operation time by 20%, increasing the fatigue of the medical staff, and there was always an invisible risk of infection and inflammation in the patient.

Lynk Solutec solved the above problem by using its own “Medical Device Surface Coating Technology” called “Lynk Coating”. Since a special coating layer is formed on the surface of the Clear Endo Vision, it is the principle that water, mucus, and bacteria, including blood, are not fundamentally attached. It was won as an innovation award in recognition of its cost-effectiveness and improvement in medical standards in creating a safer surgical environment at a lower cost instead of expensive cleaning equipment.

링크솔루텍이 개발한 Lynk Coating이 적용된 내시경 캡

Seo Jungmok, CEO of Lynk Solutec said, “We want to continue to develop products that prevent medical side effects that occur frequently in medical sites but have no way to prevent them so far, and serve as a stepping stone to connect medical sites and patients. We will solve more side effects in the medical field by launching ophthalmic filaments and fistulas, urinary tract catheters and stents, and medical tubing.”

The endoscope cap will be introduced for the first time at the booth of the CES Eureka Park Seoul Hall in January next year.

Lynk Solutec announced that it has won the Innovation Award in two categories (Digital Health, Human Security) of the 2024 CES. CES is the world’s largest IT and electronic fair organized by the American Consumer Technology Association and held in Las Vegas early every year. 2024 CES will be held from January 9 to 12 next year.

In particular, the fair will award innovation awards to next-generation products that will lead the world’s technology. Lynk Solutec was selected as a two-time winner of the Innovation Award for its endoscopic cap with a special coating.

According to Lynk Solutec, this product is characterized by complete blocking of various endoscopic obstruction materials. In order to solve the problem of obstructing the view due to fogging and bleeding during endoscopic procedures, the doctor had to wash the lens during surgery or apply anti-fog agents in short cycles. In this process, surgery time unnecessarily increased by 20%, increasing the risk of side effects such as infection and inflammation.

In fact, the number of side effects of medical devices is increasing year by year. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, A total of 51,969 domestic medical device abnormalities were reported over the five years from 2016, of which serious abnormalities accounted for 71.8%. In response, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the “Second Comprehensive Measures for Prevention and Control of Infection Related to Medical Infection (2023-2027)”, which includes the will to strengthen the medical infection monitoring system in April this year.

Lynk Solutec developed a product by applying its own medical device surface coating technology to solve this problem. Since a special coating layer is formed on the surface of the Clear Endo Vision, it is the principle that even water, mucus, and bacteria, including blood, are not fundamentally attached.

It is explained that by creating a safer surgical environment through cap attachment without washing lenses, it is possible to reduce surgical costs and improve the level of patient protection. In recognition of this, Lynk Solutech’s products were selected for the Innovation Awards in two categories of 2024 CES Digital Health and Product in Support of Human Security.

Seo Jungmok, CEO of Lynk Solutec, said, “We want to continue to develop products that block infection and inflammation problems of patients that occur frequently in medical sites but have no way to prevent them so far, and serve as a stepping stone to connect patients with medical sites. We will solve more medical problems by launching urological catheters and stents, ophthalmic filaments, tubing, artificial joints, and artificial blood vessels that apply our coating technology.”

Meanwhile, Lynk Solutec is scheduled to introduce the product at CES Eureka Park Seoul Hall early next year.

Lynk Solutec Inc., the developer of a cap for endoscopy that prevents fogging and blood attachment, received the top prize in the Life Sciences category at the ‘Republic of Korea Outstanding Patent Awards’ for the first half of 2023. This event, organized by the hankookilbo and sponsored by the Korea Intellectual Property Office, comprehensively evaluates the expertise, technicality, feasibility, and productivity of patented technologies.

Lynk Solutec Inc. has designed a solution-based medical device to address the visibility challenges faced by endoscopy medical professionals. Previously, the attachment of blood, moisture, and smudges to endoscope lenses often resulted in a complete loss of visibility, necessitating frequent lens cleaning. This posed risks to patients, exposing them to infection and inflammation, while medical professionals also complained of fatigue due to an approximately 20% increase in surgical procedure time.

Lynk Solutec Inc. has developed the ‘Clear Endo Vision’ endoscopy cap, which prevents the attachment of not only moisture but also blood, various viscosities of mucus, bacteria, and all foreign substances. They have secured a fundamental patent for this innovation. As a result, future endoscopy procedures are expected to lead to medical innovations such as the elimination of cleaning procedures, reduced surgical time, and increased patient safety.

The core technology applied in this patent is the nano-coating technique, specifically a nano-coating technology that fundamentally inhibits various medical side effects and blood clot formation that can occur before and after surgery. This technology effectively prevents the attachment of various viscosity biomaterials (such as blood and mucus) and infectious agents, making it applicable to complex structures and various materials, thanks to the flexibility of the material.

Dr. Seo Jungmok, CEO of Lynk Solutec Inc., stated, “We are not only applying nano-coating technology to endoscopy caps but also driving its commercialization in various medical devices.” He added, “We plan to apply it to various medical devices, including orthopedic artificial joints and dental implants in the future.” To achieve this, Lynk Solutec Inc. is planning collaborations with global medical device companies and exploring opportunities for international market expansion.

On June 28th, Daily Partners, a specialized venture capital firm in the field of bio and healthcare, launched the ‘2023 D’LABS DEMO DAY’ at Seoul Sonofelice Convention Center.

Held biannually, the Daily Partners Demo Day provides a platform for promising startups with innovative bio and healthcare technologies to present their Investor Relations (IR) sessions. Industry experts and investors participate, discussing various collaborative avenues and investments, fostering a hub of exchange.

Companies presenting at this year’s first-half Demo Day included Neuroxty, Seaweed, Lynk Solutec, TCBiosciences, Mirim Gene, Cascure Therapeutics, DeepCardio, and RevoSketch.

Among the participating startups, Neuroxty introduced an AI-based imaging biomarker platform for simultaneous diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders. Seaweed highlighted the potential of seaweed-based cultured meat. Lynksolutec unveiled endoscopes designed to prevent fogging and blood adhesion, while TCBiosciences presented their pipeline of innovative low-molecular-weight anticancer agents.

Given the slump in the bioventure IPO market since the second half of 2021, coupled with the global economic crisis affecting investment banking (IB), opportunities for companies to engage in IR have substantially diminished.

The Daily Partners event has been met with enthusiasm by the bio-industry. A representative from the bio-industry who participated in the Demo Day stated, “As bio investments rapidly decline, we find ourselves in a situation where not only funding but also IR opportunities are scarce. Amid uncertain prospects for subsequent investments, Daily Partners’ Demo Day stands as a significant force for the bioventure industry.”

At present, Daily Partners holds venture capital, private equity (PE), and TIPS (Technology Innovation Program for SMEs) licenses. Recently, it was selected as the operator for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Scale-up TIPS Program (4th term), positioning itself as a VC capable of investing throughout the investment cycle. Their assets under management (AUM) amount to around 400 billion KRW.

Lee Seungho, CEO of Daily Partners, stated, “Since the reestablishment of Daily Partners in 2018, we have been hosting biannual Demo Days every year.” He continued, “Even in challenging market situations, we consistently support our investment portfolio companies’ IR and PR efforts, aiming to assist fundraising and business development. We are unwavering in our commitment to conducting the event.”

[Reported by NBNTV Journalist Im Seongji]