□ DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding on the 28th with Yuhan Corporation (CEO Wook Je Cho), J INTS BIO (CEO Anna Jo), and the Yonsei New Il Han Institute for Integrative Lung Cancer Research (Director Byoung Chul Cho) for joint research on AX in the bioindustry.
□ The signing ceremony, held at Yuhan Corporation’s headquarters in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, was attended by DGIST President Kunwoo Lee, Yuhan Corporation CEO Wook Je Cho, J INTS BIO CEO Anna Jo, Yonsei New Il Han Institute for Integrative Lung Cancer Research Director Byoung Chul Cho, and other representatives from the participating institutions.
□ The agreement aims to promote the acceleration of AI Transformation (AX) in the bioindustry by bringing together the four institutions’ capabilities in science and technology, AI, drug development, the bioindustry, and clinical medicine and healthcare, and facilitate the validation and commercialization of the outcomes of joint research across research, medical, and industrial settings.
□ Under the agreement, the four institutions will cooperate in (1) establishing and operating a joint research organization to accelerate AX; (2) identifying and planning joint research projects on AX in the bioindustry; (3) forming and operating a joint research steering committee and working-level committees for individual fields; (4) leveraging AX to integrate each institution’s technologies and domain expertise; (5) jointly developing AX technologies and validating their performance and reliability; (6) validating the developed technologies in research, medical, and industrial settings and pursuing their commercialization; and (7) jointly planning and participating in government and private-sector R&D projects.
□ This collaboration brings together the differentiated capabilities of each institution. DGIST will contribute its capabilities in AI, supercomputing, and basic science research; Yuhan Corporation will contribute through its experience in global drug development and commercialization; J INTS BIO through its experience in drug candidate development and R&D execution expertise; and the Yonsei New Il Han Institute for Integrative Lung Cancer Research will contribute its capabilities in patient-centered translational and clinical research.
□ In particular, this agreement is significant in that it expands DGIST’s industrial AX experience accumulated in the robotics and semiconductor fields into the bio sector and establishes a new collaborative model for drug development by combining the expertise of the four institutions. The four institutions plan to jointly identify unmet needs in drug development and clinical practice and turn them into collaborative projects and link the entire process from AI-based technology development and validation to practical application and commercialization.
□ “By combining DGIST’s AI and supercomputing capabilities with the expertise of each institution, we will create a successful bio AX model spanning the entire process from joint project formulation to validation and commercialization,” said DGIST President Kunwoo Lee, outlining his vision. Yuhan Corporation CEO Wook Je Cho expressed his ambition, saying, “As Yuhan Corporation marks its 100th anniversary, we will build on our experience in global drug development by adding AI and clinical capabilities, expanding the potential for next-generation innovative drugs.”
□ “Based on our capabilities in drug candidate discovery and development, we will translate joint research into drug pipelines and commercialization outcomes,” said J INTS BIO CEO Anna Jo. Yonsei New Il Han Institute for Integrative Lung Cancer Research Director Byoung Chul Cho emphasized, “We will link unmet clinical needs with new therapeutic strategies and benefits for patients.”
□ Meanwhile, the four institutions plan to launch the tentatively named “AX Joint Research Lab” and develop detailed plans for joint projects, data, and the use of research infrastructure, led by responsible personnel and dedicated research teams from each institution.
