Orange Grove Bio LLC announced the establishment of a new partnership through which the companies will collaborate on jointly sourcing and developing novel therapeutics in the United States and Korea. As priority partners, the companies will cultivate the U.S. and Korean biotech landscape through technology licensing and company creation in their respective geographic areas. Under terms of the partnership, SV Investment will leverage its relationships with biotech companies and academic institutions in Korea to identify licensing opportunities for promising early-stage research in the area of drug development.

As part of the agreement, Marc Appel, chief executive officer of Orange Grove, will join SV Investment as a venture partner and will play a key role in evaluating the licensing opportunities that are identified at Korean biotech companies and universities. As appropriate, Orange Grove will work to license these technologies as a basis for life science company creation in the U.S., with SV Investment serving as an early-stage investor in the companies. Additionally, Orange Grove will identify appropriate drug development licensing opportunities at U.S.-based academic institutions that SV Investment may pursue for development and company creation in Korea.

To support these activities, as well as other investment opportunities, SV Investment has initiated the process of raising a new fund named SV Bio Platform Fund I. SV's investment philosophy is to discover and develop promising companies and establish robust investment networks between startups in Korea and internationally. SV Investment's management team prioritizes early discovery and lead investment into companies with high-growth potential and global expansion across borders. The firm has 19 years of experience providing support to companies via an extensive international network, helping companies through an initial public offering and enter into overseas markets.

Orange Grove Bio's mission is to develop new therapeutic options for patients by harnessing the significant research potential found in universities across the United States. Orange Grove Bio fosters strong relationships with technology transfer offices outside of the traditional medical technology hubs of Boston and San Francisco. Collectively, Orange Grove Bio's team possesses more than one hundred years of drug development and company creation experience, allowing it to build and finance innovative programs from the research and development stage to clinical trials.