Achievement in Localization of Domestic Research Equipment: MBD Develops World's Fastest New Drug Evaluation System

Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology Announces Commercialization of Ultra-High-Speed Screening Equipment Based on Organoids and AI

Advanced research equipment developed in Korea has officially proven its world-class performance and has now entered full-scale commercialization.

The Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology announced on December 10 that MBD Co., Ltd., which received support from the Ministry of Science and ICT's "Core Technology Development Project for Future-Leading Research Equipment," has succeeded in developing a high-speed, high-throughput new drug evaluation system based on organoids and AI.

This achievement is significant as it marks the first time a domestic research equipment company has independently developed and commercialized global-level HTS/HCS (High Throughput/Content Screening) equipment in the field of strategic technologies.

High-Speed High-Throughput New Drug Evaluation System. Provided by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Science and Technology

This accomplishment is the result of the core technology development project for research equipment, which has been underway since 2022. MBD carried out the task of "Developing Core Technology for Ultra-High-Speed, High-Throughput Integrated Research Equipment Based on Organoids," realizing a fully integrated and automated system that covers the entire process from organoid culture, cell preprocessing, drug dispensing, automated incubation, 3D fluorescence scanning, to analysis software.

The key achievement was the significant improvement in both speed and accuracy of equipment used to evaluate drug responsiveness. The research team developed and validated six core module devices: an organoid culture platform (1536 pillar/well plate), cell preprocessing equipment (chopper and temperature shaker), cell dispensing module (Spotter), liquid sample dispensing equipment, automated incubation module, and an ultra-high-speed 3D fluorescence scanner (LSFM-based). Some of these devices have already been commercialized and are being sold, while the remainder are expected to enter the market within one to three years.

In particular, the most challenging technology during development was achieving 3D fluorescence scanning that is more than ten times faster than conventional methods while maintaining confocal microscope-level image quality. MBD addressed this challenge by collaborating with the Nano-Bio Measurement Group at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science to develop a high-speed scanner based on light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM).

The completed system is capable of screening more than 32,000 drugs per day, securing the highest performance among all known drug evaluation equipment worldwide. Its ability to simultaneously evaluate drug efficacy and toxicity in a 3D environment similar to living organisms is expected to have broad applications in new drug development, precision medicine, and alternative research to animal testing.

Ku Boseong, CEO of MBD, stated, "We will continue to strengthen our technological competitiveness and expand our commercialization achievements." MBD also presented concrete results, including three SCI papers, 12 domestic and international patents (including applications and registrations), and projected sales of 1.6 billion won in 2025.

The Future-Leading Research Equipment Project Group, which oversees the Ministry of Science and ICT's "Core Technology Development Project for Future-Leading Research Equipment," has so far produced 83 patent applications, 61 SCI-level papers, and eight technology transfers. The group evaluated MBD's case as "a representative success model that achieved world-class commercialization of domestic equipment within a short period."

Kim Byungguk, President of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, emphasized, "MBD's achievement is a model case of developing core technologies based on the real needs of future research sites," adding, "The combination of hardware and AI-based software demonstrates a meaningful direction for innovation in advanced research equipment."

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