Syntekabio Launches AI Drug Development Cloud Service... "Candidate Substances Identified Within 3 Weeks"

Building Cloud Based on In-House Supercomputing
Standardizing and Simplifying the Drug Development Process

Jung Jong-sun, CEO of Syntekabio, is explaining the company's AI drug discovery cloud platform, 'STB CLOUD,' at a briefing held on the 27th at the CCMM Building in Yeouido. Photo by Kim Young-won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Syntekabio announced that it is targeting the global market by launching a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) drug development service.

On the 27th, Syntekabio held a briefing at the CCMM Building in Yeouido, Seoul, announcing the official launch of its AI drug cloud platform service, "STB CLOUD," built on its own supercomputing infrastructure.

STB CLOUD is a service that provides solutions on the cloud without the need for separate hardware or software, requiring only the target to be specified. It incorporates Syntekabio's AI synthetic drug candidate discovery platform "DeepMatcher Hit" and the NGS analysis personalized precision medicine platform "NGS-ARS."

DeepMatcher is a platform that uses AI deep learning to predict the binding affinity and optimal binding pose between target proteins and drugs, thereby exploring effective synthetic drug substances. It is divided into "DeepMatcher Hit," which searches for effective substance candidates among one billion chemical compounds, and "DeepMatcher Lead," which subsequently derives lead compounds. Cho Hye-kyung, CEO of Syntekabio, stated, "We expect that utilizing these two functions will accelerate the development and discovery of new drug candidates and improve success rates." NGS-ARS is a platform that enables personalized precision medicine through genomic analysis of cancer and rare genetic diseases.

STB CLOUD standardizes, simplifies, and automates the existing drug development process, allowing easy one-click service access anytime and anywhere. According to Syntekabio, using DeepMatcher can deliver new drug effective substance discovery results within three weeks with just a few clicks, potentially saving costs and time.

Additionally, unlike the SaaS (Software as a Service) model, where users must perform separate tasks to obtain final results despite software being provided via the cloud, STB CLOUD automatically runs the software within its own supercomputing environment to immediately provide the desired results.

Since starting supercomputing in 2014, Syntekabio currently operates about 2,000 CPUs and 1,000 GPUs. When its own supercomputing center, scheduled for completion next year, is finished, it is expected to establish a supercomputing environment with about 10,000 units. CEO Jung Jong-sun explained, "Syntekabio is the first in the world among AI drug development companies to build such a large integrated cloud infrastructure environment."

Following the deployment of two platforms on the cloud this year, next year will see the addition of "NEO-ARS," which discovers neoantigens that can be developed into anticancer vaccines or cell therapies, and DeepMatcher Lead. In 2024, the disease cause multi-mutation AI prediction solution for biomarker discovery, "PGM-ARS," will also be added. The global service of STB CLOUD is scheduled to be unveiled next month.

Lee Byung-ho, Vice President of Platform Business, said, "We are starting with DeepMatcher Hit now, but we plan to load the entire drug development cycle, including the next stage DeepMatcher Lead and clinical phases, onto the cloud to create a sensation in domestic drug development and establish ourselves as a global leader in drug development."

CEO Jung expressed his ambition, saying, "Going forward, we will introduce our platforms domestically and internationally in a cloud-based manner through STB CLOUD, covering drug development, precision medicine, and biomarker discovery. We aim to solidify our position as the first mover in the AI drug development and precision medicine industry."