Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Korea University Anam Hospital Enhance AI Drug Development 'Accuracy and Speed' with Precision Medical Data

Junsuk Park, Head of New Drug Center at Daewoong Pharmaceutical (left), and Beomjin Park, Deputy Director of Research at Korea University Anam Hospital (right), are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement. Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 8th that it has signed a business agreement with the Research Department of Korea University Anam Hospital for 'collaboration on new drug development technology using AI.'

The business agreement ceremony, held on the 5th floor conference room of Hwajeong Research Building at Korea University Anam Hospital on the 27th of last month, was attended by Park Jun-seok, Head of the New Drug Center at Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Park Beom-jin, Head of the Research Department at Korea University Anam Hospital, and other related personnel.

This agreement was signed to establish a mutual cooperation system by combining Daewoong Pharmaceutical's extensive experience in new drug development and AI new drug development technology with the research competitiveness of Korea University Anam Hospital, which possesses medical data resources as a research-oriented hospital. Through this agreement, both parties plan to promote ▲ sharing of technologies and resources necessary for AI new drug development and research ▲ mutual cooperation for the provision and utilization of genomic data, biological data, clinical data, and more.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical expects to further strengthen its AI new drug development competitiveness by utilizing the high-quality medical data and drug evaluation capabilities possessed by Korea University Anam Hospital. Additionally, by securing new drug candidate substances faster and more cost-effectively than before, it plans to expand its new drug development pipeline. Korea University Anam Hospital will enhance the reliability of the new drug development process by experimentally verifying the candidate substances discovered using AI by Daewoong Pharmaceutical.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's AI new drug development platform consists of DAVID, an internal compound library; DAIVS, which uses AI for virtual screening to find effective compounds; and DAIFrag, which optimizes the structures of small molecule compounds to strongly bind to targets. Furthermore, by utilizing DAISY, which can predict key drug characteristics such as absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity, the selection process of new drug candidates will be conducted more precisely to maximize the efficiency and success potential of new drug development.

Meanwhile, Korea University Anam Hospital, designated as a research-oriented hospital by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, aims to develop new drugs, medical devices, and digital health technologies based on clinical field experience and patient data held by the hospital, and to commercialize these in connection with the industry. Currently, the hospital is researching target proteins for new drug development, but effective compounds applicable to these targets have not yet been secured.

Accordingly, Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to discover and optimize new drug candidate substances suitable for these targets using its own AI new drug development platform. The discovered candidate substances will be experimentally verified for efficacy and safety by Korea University Anam Hospital, and based on this, both institutions will jointly explore the possibility of developing innovative new drugs.

Park Beom-jin, Head of the Research Department at Korea University Anam Hospital, said, "Through this agreement, we expect to combine the research capabilities of both institutions to increase the efficiency and success potential of new drug development," adding, "We will cooperate to ensure that AI-based new drug development can be competitive in the global market."

Park Jun-seok, Head of the New Drug Center at Daewoong Pharmaceutical, stated, "As new drug development using AI accelerates, cooperation with Korea University Anam Hospital holds very significant meaning," and added, "We will connect promising targets discovered at the hospital to new drug development through collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, discover innovative new drugs, and lead the establishment of an AI new drug development cooperation ecosystem between industry and hospitals."