SK Chemicals-Standaeim, Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Candidate Discovery

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] SK Chemicals announced on the 7th that it has discovered a treatment substance for rheumatoid arthritis through joint research using Standigm's artificial intelligence (AI) platform technology and has filed a patent for it.

In July 2019, SK Chemicals signed a joint research agreement with AI specialist company Standigm for drug development.

Since then, they have started discovering new treatments in the fields of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and within about a year, filed a patent for a rheumatoid arthritis treatment substance. This patent application is the first achievement SK Chemicals has made through joint research with an AI company.

The drug repositioning method used this time is a drug development approach that discovers new disease efficacies from existing drugs that have already been used or developed as treatments for specific diseases. Applying AI technology allows for faster and more efficient identification of mechanisms by which drugs act effectively from large-scale clinical data.

Because the drug repositioning method discovered drugs effective for rheumatoid arthritis among drugs whose safety has already been confirmed, it is explained to be faster and more efficient than conventional new drug development.

The two companies plan to continue joint research on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and rheumatoid arthritis to discover additional new drug candidates.

Kim Jung-hoon, head of SK Chemicals' R&D Center, said, "SK Chemicals' drug development capabilities have been further enhanced by combining with advanced external AI technology," and added, "We will continue developing new drugs for intractable diseases through open innovation with companies and research centers in various fields."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.