SK Chemicals Partners with Simplex to Launch AI Drug Development Initiative

Jung Jin Cho, CEO of Simplex, and Jung Hoon Kim, Head of the SK Chemicals Research and Development Center (from left), are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a joint research agreement. (Photo by SK Chemicals)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] SK Chemicals is embarking on open innovation research and development (R&D) through artificial intelligence (AI).

On the 29th, SK Chemicals announced that it has signed a contract with Simplex, an AI-based new drug development company, to jointly research and develop new drugs and begin searching for new drug candidates. Since starting joint research with Standigm in 2019, SK Chemicals has been actively pursuing an open innovation strategy through collaborations with multiple AI-related companies such as Deargen and Dr. Noah.

Simplex was established in 2017. All employees possess extensive experience and knowledge in pharmaceutical R&D, enabling them to quickly evaluate AI-discovered new drug candidates and minimize trial and error, which is considered a distinctive advantage. Through its proprietary technology platform ‘CEEK-CURE,’ which pursues 'explainable AI,' not only the results of new drug discovery but also the derivation process are stored and explained, making tracking, modification, and supplementation easy.

Under this contract, the two companies will discover new drug structures targeting specific indications and target proteins. Simplex will use CEEK-CURE to discover new drug candidates, which SK Chemicals will then verify and proceed with commercialization procedures such as clinical trials. Intellectual property rights for the resulting new drug candidates will be jointly owned by both companies, while licensing rights, including distribution rights, will be exclusively held by SK Chemicals.

Jungjin Cho, CEO of Simplex, said, "Collaboration with SK Chemicals, which has successfully developed numerous new drugs, is an opportunity to recognize the value of the platform that Simplex has developed over a long period." He added, "We will focus on deriving new drug candidates at the AI platform stage so that new drug R&D projects can be rapidly and efficiently commercialized."

Junghoon Kim, Head of R&D Center at SK Chemicals, said, "Simplex’s AI platform allows detailed verification of the result derivation process and has many experts specialized in new drug development." He added, "We expect that faster and more efficient new drug R&D projects will be conducted."

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