The Biggest Risk Is Not Taking Any Risk | HIS Challenge, BORYUNG

1. 0:00 – 1:20

   Intro

   1. SPSpeaker0:00

      [instrumental music] Space is here. This is not science fiction. It's no longer rocket science. Uh, space is, is an opportunity for a lot of biotechs, opportunity for pharmaceutical companies.

   2. SPSpeaker0:11

      In the past, it takes about $50,000 per one kilogram experimentation. But with the SpaceX Falcon 9, if they launch a Starship, which is the latest, the vehicle, it's gonna be dropped down about $500. 2030 will be the next milestone. People live more than six months a year in space because commercial space station will replace International Space Station, so it gives a lot of potential and room for many people to utilize this asset.

   3. SPSpeaker0:39

      I think people need to start to think about the space station as a laboratory for doing research. As long as you have a path, it might not be a FedEx truck or a plane, this is a rocket that you're sending to the space station, and it was so cool that your product is on that rocket. This is no longer a science fiction. This is an opportunity to really leverage a unique platform for drug development and drug manufacturing. [upbeat music]

2. 1:20 – 5:05

   Building the Bridge to Space

   1. SPSpeaker1:22

      My name is Jack Lim, executive director at Boryung. Boryung is a pharmaceutical company. The way we are doing is kind of age of a discovery from, like, 15th to 17th centuries that the European people explore to different American continents. I think it's the same type of thing. We are currently confined in blue marble, Earth, but we all have our mission to explore space. That's why we providing our service as a pharmaceutical, but also looking at space as new growth opportunity as a business-wise, but also provide the right solution for humans exploration in space as well.

   2. SPSpeaker2:00

      NASA Commissioner Bill Nelson said, "Rockets runs on fuel. NASA runs on inspiration." That inspiration will lead more and more people to space. That's why we are here. We need to be ready to send people to space safely. That's what all Korean space is all about.

   3. SPSpeaker2:21

      Humans in Space Challenge is about the, uh, open innovation global challenge program. We are actually trying to discover the novel technology who actually providing the business a service as a startup company, and also the researchers who's willing to send their experimentation in space in terms of biomedical space healthcare. So we see the space as a new opportunity, but we didn't know where to start in the beginning. We started contacting with all the expertise all over the world. Luckily, I got in touch with one of our alumni who is actually the ex-astronaut in NASA and also professor in Georgia Tech, and I asked her a lot of questions, and we did a lot of the Zoom meetings back then. And then she kind of helped us to frame what type of problem we should solve. We kind of divide into two scopes. The one sector we call critical problem in space, which is we're trying to solve the healthcare issues for our future astronaut in space. The human explorer in space, there's gonna be many health issues that will occur from human body, and we're trying to solve that problem first. And second one, we trying to... We call the critical problem on Earth, which is using space microgravity condition to solve many different kinds of health issues on Earth, such as cancer or aging related issues. So mainly we have a two scope to solve the problems through our Humans in Space Challenge. And then luckily I got in touch with NASA HRP, the Human Research Program. They actually study very similar type of problem that we're trying to solve. And when you think about NASA, we automatically think that they're gonna have all different type of solutions, right? We saw their current work in terms of the human exploration and how human body risk in terms of the lower orbit or in lunar and Mars are different kind of condition. When you send people to Mars, it takes at least, like, six month, and so during that time period, of course, there are many things you should be consider. In that case, NASA didn't even know how to solve that problem. So even NASA doesn't know the problem, then there might be something that as a commercial company can contribute the value with all different kinds of the people all over the world. But as a commercial company, we can... We are more flexible working on this type of initiative. So we luckily got in touch with them, and then they became one of our judges in 2022. And then the partnership kind of escalated. We, uh, get in touch with the Stanford, MIT, Harvard Medical School. Everything just starts kind of hard in the beginning. The main reason that how we started and how we actually be able to connect with all these, you know, very prestigious partners is because nobody started this type of initiative before. [upbeat music]

3. 5:05 – 8:07

   Pioneers Join Our Mission

   1. SPSpeaker5:05

      We can actually use not only just research test bed in space, but there's actually a company who's trying to use as manufacturing platform. One of my favorite company called the Lambda Vision, they're actually developing new artificial retina in space.

   2. SPSpeaker5:22

      LambdaVision participated in the Human in Space Challenge in 2023. We had to come up with a pitch competition, and we pitched in front of a, the large audience. You know, people came by and, and talked to us at our, our individual booths. We were a winner that year. That supported us to do some additional research in microgravity. We were really excited about the results that we got from space, because what we're showing is that we can actually get a more even, stable product. What we did is we took a, those open beaker experiments, you cannot fly open solutions on the International Space Station, flew that in a box. So the box that we're flying is about the size of a shoebox. I didn't think it was possible. It's just wasn't first thing on my, my brain.

   3. SPSpeaker6:03

      The- there's actually some of the case that some of the startups, they haven't thought about applying their current prototype model to kind of apply to space. They never thought about that. But space will be, you know, kind of next opportunity for them to develop kind of long-term phase. Our main role is we connect the right teams to right partners so that they can send their R&D and research to right platform. When it comes to fund, we have a different model, like one equity stake. We actually invest their equity in the company. But at the same time, we also investment model called orbital launch funding, which we cover their space launch cost for their specific experimentation. The people who apply this program, we have a right procedure for our judge process. So each individual judge, they actually review e- each individual applicants. And then mostly equity stake companies, obviously we see them as a investment opportunity, so our venture capital partners also looking at taking a look at that company as a potential for the investment. We, running our business initiative is very smart way, because we only invest like $100,000 for startup equity, but at the same time, we connect with numerous space agency like NASA, European Space Agency, ESA. We supported them through the funding. And two, we have our, our internal own accelerator program. It's called Humans in Space Accelerator Program. We are not space company. We're not fully expertise of space healthcare, but we know how to create actual the platform that we can connect right people with our right partners, not only just the research level, but also the, uh, the platform and utilizing space environment for those people as well.

   4. SPSpeaker7:41

      This is a really good time to get involved and, and we're also building something from the ground up, doing a blueprint of, of the future in 10, 20 years. You're, you're being pioneering, not just what you need today, but what are you gonna need in five years? What are you gonna need in 10 years? Where do you think the industry is going to go? When you're doing new things, it can be very challenging. It doesn't always feel like you're doing the right things, but if you're stagnant, you're not gonna grow.

4. 8:07 – 11:29

   Now It's Your Turn

   1. SPSpeaker8:09

      One of the thing that I realized running the program was how individual researchers and startup actually work on different kinds of problems when it comes to space exploration, also trying to solve the problem on Earth. We saw how they are scatter, how they are not be able to connect with each others, because each individual technology and research has a lot of values and potential, but they just don't know how to connect with right partners. I think we have a pretty good networks in terms of all the prestigious university level and also space agency level historically conduct numerous space related research before. So we can make sure that connect the right people who is a very kind of similar research experiments with our expertise.

   2. SPSpeaker8:54

      One of the great things, though, about being part of these challenges are the people that you meet. The only way we're gonna be successful is if we all work together. In order to do something very, very bold, very, very visionary, you need to have a lot of thought leaders in a room working together to accomplish that. So many of the people that I met during that experience, uh, we still are sharing ideas. Every place that I've gone, the energy from the other entrepreneurs, uh, the excitement in the space, that also helps to keep you going.

   3. SPSpeaker9:25

      When people talk about space, it's, um, very complicated. It's very difficult concept to understand. But the International Space Station, it's actually built 1998. It's about 20 years from now. The way we're trying to have the space healthcare ecosystem, not only just running the Humans in Space Challenge, but actually trying to secure the right infrastructure to provide the experiment service platform, it's not like a new concept, I think. It has been established from ever since International Space Station built, but there's no one actually trying to play the way we're doing it. So that's, I think, a pretty big value.

   4. SPSpeaker10:06

      Don't be afraid to take the risk. Be bold. Be visionary. This is a very, uh, you know, pivotal time for, for space research. But I would also tell them that opportunities in space are not just for scientists and engineers. Right now, there are opportunities in space for people developing spacesuits, for s- people sewing in space, for insurance in space, hotel and hospitality, anthropology in space. Where you start might not be where you, you end.

   5. SPSpeaker10:35

      I think the most of startup, they change their business model very frequently. But I think, um, space will be, you know, kind of next opportunity for them to develop kind of long-term phase. I want those startup out there to look at space as a new opportunity or testify or apply your current business model or your current technology in space. Everything that we're doing, it's pretty much like a first step. Space healthcare is a very rare topic, but at the same time, we are leveraging healthcare society to break into space economy, space industry. It's obviously intersect between two industry in one program together. [gentle music]

Episode duration: 11:30