Celltrion has opened a research and development office in Boston to speed up its new drug development efforts in the US while seeking and boosting cooperation with other firms, company officials said Monday.

According to company officials, the South Korean biopharmaceutical giant completed the establishment of the Boston office earlier this year. The new US office has been exploring the biotechnology industry’s trends while gathering information on startups and pipelines with investment potential.

Boston is regarded as one of the biggest biotech clusters in the world, as the city is home to global drugmakers’ offices, R&D centers and biotech venture startups along with major schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

“The setup (of the Boston office) was completed in the first half of this year and it began local activities. The office has been conducting research and carrying out deal sourcing to identify investment opportunities on biotechnology startups,” a Celltrion official said.