SK Chemicals Establishes Dedicated Regular Team for 'Open Innovation'

Existing TF Expanded and Reorganized as 'Open Innovation Team'

SK Chemicals has established a dedicated team to accelerate open innovation. Su-min Lee, head of the Open Innovation team, is reviewing the progress of AI drug development research with Han-jo Kim, head of the Synthesis Research Institute at Standigm, an AI collaboration partner (from left in the photo). Photo by SK Chemicals

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] SK Chemicals is accelerating the expansion of new drug research and development (R&D) through the formal organization of its open innovation team.

On the 19th, SK Chemicals announced that it will expand and reorganize the existing 'Open R&D Task Force (TF)' into a formal organization called the 'Open Innovation Team' to strengthen its new drug pipeline through R&D innovation. The Open Innovation Team will be established as a formal organization under the SK Chemicals Research and Development Center. Dedicated personnel will continuously perform tasks in three areas: ▲New Drug Development ▲Artificial Intelligence (AI) ▲Investment and Partnering.

In the new drug development sector, the team will be responsible for joint research and discovering and developing its own pipeline. The AI sector will focus on building its own AI platform, while the investment and partnering sector will mainly handle the introduction of early-stage pipelines and venture investment. Each sector will work organically to strengthen SK Chemicals' overall R&D capabilities.

Since launching the Open R&D TF in 2019, SK Chemicals has achieved various results in new drug development R&D. In the AI new drug development field, it has signed partnership agreements with numerous specialized companies, broadly laying the foundation for its new drug pipeline. With Standigm, which signed an agreement in 2019, SK Chemicals discovered a candidate substance for rheumatoid arthritis treatment and filed a patent. Two projects targeting non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) aim to confirm efficacy in the preclinical stage and secure material patents within this year. Additionally, collaborations are ongoing with various AI new drug development companies such as Deargen, Dr. Noah Biotech, and Simplex, and joint research is being pursued with J2H Biotech, which possesses synthetic new drug platform technology.

Investment in bio ventures has also steadily increased. For some open innovation partner companies, strategic and direct investments have been made to expand cooperation. Meanwhile, exploration of promising bio ventures continues through investments in domestic and international venture capital (VC) bio funds and US-based specialized bio VCs.

Lee Soo-min, head of the Open Innovation Team, stated, “This is the point where visible results are emerging from the search for new drug candidates through collaborations that have been ongoing since 2019. A dedicated organization has been formed to successfully complete ongoing projects and create additional opportunities for innovative new drug development.”

In addition to the joint research projects currently under development, SK Chemicals plans to start new joint research with at least three new partners within this year. Efforts to commercialize will also be intensified to ensure that candidate substances derived from joint research can quickly enter clinical trials and be licensed out.

Kim Jung-hoon, head of the SK Chemicals Research and Development Center, said, “Open innovation allows us to utilize external technology and infrastructure even in areas where the company does not have internal capabilities, enabling more efficient and broader R&D activities. SK Chemicals will leverage its long-standing know-how in new drug development to serve as an incubator, ensuring that the technologies of bio venture companies with high potential translate into tangible results.”

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