SK Chemicals Partners with NextGen Bioscience to Advance AI-Driven Drug Discovery Platform
Key Insights
SK Chemicals (search) signed an MOU with NextGen Bioscience (search) to combine drug development capabilities and jointly discover new candidates, particularly in disease areas with insufficient treatment options.
NextGen Bioscience (search)'s proprietary Fibrain (search)™ platform integrates AI technology with chemical libraries to rapidly identify drug candidates for autoimmune and fibrotic diseases (search).
The collaboration will span the entire drug development process from candidate discovery to clinical development, with shared research facilities and personnel exchanges.
SK Chemicals (search) announced on December 26 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with NextGen Bioscience (search) to enhance cooperation in discovering new drug projects and conducting joint research and development. The partnership represents SK Chemicals' continued commitment to strengthening its competitiveness in new drug development through open innovation strategies.
Strategic Partnership Framework
The agreement aims to combine the new drug development capabilities of both companies to jointly discover new drug candidates and expand research collaboration, particularly in disease areas where current treatment options are insufficient. The collaboration will encompass a wide range of activities including jointly identifying new drug projects, conducting research tasks, sharing research facilities and equipment, and exchanging research personnel, technology, and information.
NextGen Bioscience's AI-Driven Platform
Founded in 2018, NextGen Bioscience (search) is a biotechnology company specializing in developing new drugs for autoimmune and fibrotic diseases (search). The company has gained recognition for its ability to rapidly identify drug candidates through its proprietary new drug development platform, Fibrain (search)™, which utilizes AI technology and an in-house chemical library.
Fibrain (search) represents an integrated new drug development system that organically links AI-based drug modeling, new compound synthesis, screening, and both preclinical and clinical development functions. Based on this platform, the company is researching multiple new drug pipelines, including treatments for alopecia areata (search), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (search), and wet age-related macular degeneration (search).
Research Progress and Clinical Advancement
Several of NextGen Bioscience (search)'s autoimmune and fibrotic disease treatment projects under development have achieved visible research results, with some being selected as national research projects or entering the clinical stage. This progress demonstrates the potential of the company's AI-driven approach to drug discovery and development.
SK Chemicals' Open Innovation Strategy
SK Chemicals (search) is currently conducting research on new drug pipelines in various disease areas, including oncology (search) and fibrotic diseases (search). The company has accumulated experience in development and regulatory approval from the preclinical to clinical stages through multiple new drug development achievements. Based on its open innovation strategy, SK Chemicals is expanding its early-stage new drug pipeline through collaboration with external specialized companies.
Future Collaboration Plans
With this agreement, the two companies plan to explore the potential for collaboration throughout the entire new drug development process, from the initial candidate discovery stage to preclinical and clinical development. They aim to identify new joint research projects to be pursued step by step.
"We expect that the lead compounds secured at the early stage can be rapidly advanced to the development phase through cooperation with SK Chemicals (search)," said Lee Bongyong, CEO of NextGen Bioscience (search). "With this agreement, we will create a collaborative model that leads to tangible development outcomes."
Park Hyunsun, Head of Pharma Business at SK Chemicals (search), emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership: "Open innovation is one of the key strategies for quickly securing the capabilities needed for new drug development through collaboration with external companies that have expertise in their respective fields. We will continue to strengthen SK Chemicals' new drug portfolio by expanding collaboration with various companies, including NextGen Bioscience (search)."