[Yoo Sung, Head of Edaily Bio platform Center] Regulations often act as constraints on business activities, to varying degrees, across all industries. In K-Bio, regulations serve as a double-edged sword. For companies that can overcome regulatory risks and operate successfully, regulations act as a strong barrier against new competitors. In such cases, regulations are not obstacles but rather protective shields that fuel business growth. Conversely, for companies that fail to navigate these regulatory hurdles, they become insurmountable barriers.

One bio-venture is making headlines for turning regulations into an opportunity in one of the most highly regulated fields, medical big data. That company is EvidNet, a healthcare big data specialist that operates Asia’s largest medical big data platform.

As of February 2024, EvidNet has secured the medical data of 69 million patients and over 30 billion records, establishing itself as a leading player in Asia. It has also partnered with over 60 major hospitals across South Korea, creating a nationwide hospital network.

The company provides data standardization and analysis solutions through its big data platform, supporting pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and research institutions in drug development, clinical research, and medical policy planning.

In an interview with Edaily on February 24, CEO InSan Cho revealed that the key to EvidNet’s success was leaving medical data within hospitals instead of transferring it externally.

“Rather than extracting medical data from hospitals, we built a platform where the data remains in place, and only the analysis results are accessible to researchers. This was the game-changing factor in turning regulations into an opportunity.”

While competitors focused on relocating hospital data to external servers for analysis, EvidNet developed a stationary data analysis solution that eliminates the need for data transfers. This strategic choice was crucial, according to Cho.

CEO Cho, a medical scientist, holds degrees from Seoul National University (Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering), ChungAng University Medical School, and Sungkyunkwan University’s Graduate School of Convergence Medical Science.

Insan Jo, CEO of Evidnet. Photo provided by Evidnet.

Currently, most medical data companies are struggling under South Korea’s strict Personal Information Protection Act, making it nearly impossible to conduct business. The 2022 amendment to this law allowed the use of anonymized personal medical data for commercial purposes. However, privacy concerns from civil rights groups have led to strong opposition, leaving the industry in limbo.

Amid these challenges, EvidNet’s innovative approach has set it apart, allowing it to thrive where others have failed. Competitors have been unable to overcome the invisible regulatory barriers related to data privacy concerns and have withdrawn from the market. As a result, EvidNet is expected to further solidify its dominance in the industry.

“Trust is everything in the medical big data business. For 7~8 years, we focused solely on gaining the trust of hospitals. That foundation allowed us to fully launch our data-driven business in 2022, leading to tangible results.”

CEO Cho emphasized that EvidNet’s platform enables multi-institutional research and AI learning without the need to transfer medical data outside hospital networks. This approach has reassured hospitals, which are extremely sensitive to privacy risks, making partnerships possible.

By ensuring perfect data security and privacy protection, EvidNet has differentiated itself from competitors and gained a competitive edge in global collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and research institutions. Since on-site data analysis requires advanced technology and close collaboration with hospitals, it is difficult for competitors to replicate this model.

Moreover, the EvidNet platform goes beyond simply providing medical data. It offers a fully optimized solution that covers standardization, integration, analysis, and application, making it highly attractive to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

CEO Cho now has his sights set on global expansion, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.

“In the U.S., hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have a strong need to collaborate on diverse medical data research. We plan to expand into the U.S. and Europe in the near future, leveraging the success of our platform in Korea.”

He believes that when it comes to standardizing medical data, EvidNet is ahead of many global leaders in the field.

“Big data and AI are driving groundbreaking innovation in healthcare and drug development. This transformation is built on data. EvidNet aims to become a global leader in providing the data and AI solutions that patients, medical professionals, and drug developers need.”

Cho also pointed out that South Korea’s medical data ecosystem is still underdeveloped. He called for strong government support policies to help domestic companies compete in the rapidly evolving global healthcare landscape.