LG Group’s headquarters in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, August 3 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Group is ramping up its investments in the biotech sector, acquiring a stake in U.S.-based cancer therapy developer Strand Therapeutics as part of a broader push into future-growth industries.
Strand Therapeutics, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics company founded in 2017 by bioengineering graduates from MIT. The company develops therapies for cancer, autoimmune, and rare diseases by engineering human cells to produce precise amounts of therapeutic antigens in the body.
LG’s investment was made through LG Technology Ventures, its Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm. The deal was part of Strand’s Series B funding round. With this latest move, LG’s cumulative investment in the biotech sector via the fund is estimated to have surpassed $50 million — up more than 40% from $35 million at the end of last year.
The investment is part of LG’s broader strategy to strengthen its presence in ABC — AI, Bio, and Clean Tech — industries. In February, LG also made a second investment in Adarx Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech company developing obesity treatments that suppress appetite. The firm’s lead drug candidate is currently undergoing clinical trials, with FDA approval potentially hinging on 2027 results.
LG has also backed a range of health tech startups, including Aetion (a healthcare data analytics platform), Eko Health (which uses digital stethoscopes to detect heart and lung diseases), and cell therapy firm Accelerec.
The conglomerate is complementing its biotech expansion with aggressive R&D in AI-driven medical solutions. In July, LG AI Research unveiled “Exaone PASS 2.0,” an AI model capable of diagnosing cancer within a minute by analyzing genetic mutations and microcellular changes — a process that traditionally takes over two weeks.
In parallel, LG is collaborating with leading academic institutions such as Vanderbilt University Medical Center to develop advanced multimodal medical AI platforms. It is also partnering with Jackson Laboratory to identify Alzheimer’s disease factors and with Seoul National University to develop next-generation protein structure prediction algorithms.
Since its founding in 2018, LG Technology Ventures has invested over $410 million in more than 90 startups across AI, biotechnology, batteries, mobility, and advanced materials.
In his New Year’s address, LG CEO Koo Kwang-mo highlighted AI and biotechnology as key pillars of innovation, expressing a vision of using transformative technologies to extend healthier lives: “We are taking on the future so that loved ones can stay together longer through breakthrough medicine.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
