Pharmaceutical Bio Association Launches AI New Drug Development Advisory Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (Chairman Won Hee-mok) announced on the 11th that it held the inaugural meeting of the AI New Drug Development Advisory Committee, composed of 14 experts from industry, academia, and research sectors, along with its first session on the 10th at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The AI New Drug Development Advisory Committee consists of ▲Professor Kim Dong-seop of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology ▲Professor Kim Seon of Seoul National University ▲Professor Kim Jeong-ryeol of Samsung Seoul Hospital ▲Professor Kim Hwa-jong of Kangwon National University ▲Center Director Park Joon-seok of Daewoong Pharmaceutical ▲Deputy Director Shin Hyun-jin of Mokam Life Science Research Institute ▲Professor Oh Ji-seon of Seoul Asan Hospital ▲Center Director Lee Seon-gyeong of Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology ▲Manager Lee Ji-young of Daegu Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation ▲Professor Jang Dong-jin of Catholic University ▲Team Leader Choi In-hee of Korea Pasteur Institute ▲CEO Chu Yeon-seong of BioS Partners ▲Professor Han Nam-sik of Cambridge University Milner Institute ▲Professor Hwang Dae-hee of Seoul National University (in alphabetical order).

They plan to provide policy and technical advice on projects such as fostering convergent experts to accelerate AI new drug development over two years until May 2024, presenting an AI new drug development roadmap (white paper), and public-private AI new drug development projects. It is known that applying AI technologies such as machine learning to new drug development can reduce the development period from over 15 years to about 7 years. While domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies are actively engaging in AI new drug development, the utilization remains mostly in the early stages of drug development, and there are limitations such as a shortage of specialized personnel.

On the day, the advisory committee, chaired by Kim Woo-yeon, head of the AI New Drug Development Support Center, held discussions on expert training and drafting the AI new drug development roadmap. The committee stated, “There is an absolute shortage of experts in the AI new drug development field,” and added, “The learning tracks and online education platform (LAIDD), designed to reflect the diverse educational needs of students with different expertise in AI, biology, chemistry, and medicine, are expected to significantly alleviate the shortage of convergent talents who serve as mediators for collaboration and communication.”

Regarding the presentation of the AI new drug development roadmap, the advisory committee diagnosed, “The new drug development process is complex, and the level of AI technology advancement varies at each stage, so each market participant perceives the current technology level differently and has a wide spectrum of future outlooks ranging from very negative to very positive.” They also stated, “If the AI new drug development white paper presents the current status, future potential, and directions of technology in each area as perceived by experts, AI technology will properly establish itself in the market, leading to policies, cooperation, and investments among companies based on it.”

Chairman Won Hee-mok said, “To vitalize AI new drug development, collaboration across various fields and active communication are necessary,” and added, “The advisory committee is expected to inject new vitality into domestic pharmaceutical and bio industries’ new drug development based on their profound knowledge and experience in each field.”

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