South Korean pharmaceutical company Yuhan said Friday that it had tapped its research center head as a new chief of its US subsidiary Yuhan USA. 

The company said Choi Soon-kyu would lead Yuhan USA, making full use of his experience in developing new medicines and exporting technologies. 

Choi has worked at multinational companies including German pharmaceutical company Bayer and PTC therapeautics. 

Seoul-based Yuhan established a wholly owned subsidiary in the US, named Yuhan USA, in San Diego in March last year, to expand into the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. 

Yuhan said the US subsidiary was designed to promote its “open innovation,” which involves the exploration of new drug candidates and original drug technologies from outside companies.

In December, it opened an additional office in Boston as part of its business expansion in the US.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)