Celerion, a leader in early clinical research, delivers Applied Translational Medicine, has expanded its clinical operations to South Korea. Through its partnership with Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), the new Asian office is located within the SNUH Clinical Trials Centre. This enables Celerion and our clients access to the 80-bed clinical research unit, particularly geared toward clinical pharmacology, oncology, and paediatrics, as well as the highly trained staff at this centre.

The new Asian office will be overseen by John Horkulak, executive director, Eurasian Site Operations. Horkulak brings over 20 years of experience in managing clinical pharmacology studies in patient populations to this role.

The focus of the SNUH Clinical Trials Centre is translational medicine and aligns with Celerion’s strategic vision to provide effective global services that support growing interest in complex early clinical studies, often involving patients. In addition, Celerion has built relationships and audited three other clinical trial centres in South Korea to support the need for multi-site early clinical studies in patients often requiring confinement.

South Korea has become a leader in the Asia Pacific region for conducting clinical studies. Over the past 10 years, the South Korean government has provided funding and resources to create a network of well-equipped hospital-based clinical trial centres as a focus for training and growth in clinical pharmacology. By partnering with Celerion, SNUH and other clinical trial centres will gain exposure to our best practices and processes as well as broader involvement in global drug development. Through Celerion, clients will have access to patient populations suitable for participation in early clinical research in oncology, HCV, cardiovascular (atherosclerosis and hypertension), diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, pain, psychiatric conditions, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, asthma and COPD. In addition, Celerion’s partners will provide expertise in pharmacogenetics and ethnic bridging studies in Asian populations.

“We are very pleased to have a presence in South Korea through our partnership with Seoul National University Hospital,” said Susan Thornton PhD., president and CEO at Celerion. “They are a highly respected institution and among the global leaders in the conduct of quality medical research. Collectively, we are in a solid position to successfully conduct and analyze complex clinical pharmacology studies involving patients with access to specialized equipment and facilities.”

“It is an honour for us to partner with Celerion, a global leader in early clinical research,” said Prof. Yung-Jue Bang MD PhD., president of the Biomedical Research Institute at SNUH, who also serves as the Director to the Clinical Trials Centre. “The partnership enables us to participate more actively in global drug development programs as well as supporting the early clinical research needs for the emerging Korean drug discovery industry.”

Celerion’s expansion of business operations to South Korea builds on our long-standing expertise in clinical pharmacology and reflects the latest step in our strategic commitment to Applied Translation Medicine.