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Im Woo-hyung, head of LG AI Research (left), and Lee Seul-ki, CEO of D&D Pharmatech (right), shake hands after signing a definitive agreement for the joint development of next-generation peptide medicines at the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of June 16. / Photo courtesy of LG

LG is venturing into the joint development of next-generation peptide medicines alongside D&D Pharmatech to secure leadership in the AI biotech market.

On June 17, LG announced that it had signed a business contract regarding the project with D&D Pharmatech at the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul, on the previous day. The event was attended by officials from LG AI Research—including Im Woo-hyung, head of the institute, Lee Hwa-young, head of the Business Development Department, and Jang Jong-sung, head of the Bio Intelligence Lab—as well as representatives from D&D Pharmatech, including CEO Lee Seul-ki, Vice President Hong Sung-hoon, and Park Eun-ji, head of the R&D Headquarters.

The peptides that the two companies have agreed to co-develop are bioactive substances composed of short chains of amino acids that form proteins, playing a core role in precisely regulating the recovery and growth of the human body. They hold the advantage of high safety by selectively acting only on disease-causing substances within cells that are difficult for antibody medicines to target. Previously, however, they were developed primarily as injectables because they are easily broken down by digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract.

The two companies plan to utilize AI technology to innovatively improve safety and absorption rates, jointly developing oral treatments in tablet form as breakthrough new drugs in the fields of intractable diseases and precision medicine.

Accordingly, LG AI Research will develop an AI model that analyzes the structures of disease-causing substances, designing optimal peptide sequences that were difficult to discover using conventional methods and unearthing new drug candidates. D&D Pharmatech will be responsible for the structural design, synthesis, and evaluation of the candidates derived by the AI. It will apply its proprietary technology for optimizing molecular shapes to handle everything from oral formulation development to preclinical and clinical trials, as well as global regulatory approval procedures. In particular, the companies plan to establish a cyclical structure where D&D Pharmatech validates the candidates designed by LG AI Research using AI, and the results are fed back into the AI model to continuously upgrade the model's performance.

Im Woo-hyung, co-head of LG AI Research, stated, "This collaboration goes beyond a mere technology adoption; it is a process of building bio-specific AI that solves complex challenges in new drug development through AI," adding, "Based on AI protein design technology, we will ensure that we can simultaneously enhance both the speed and probability of success in next-generation peptide drug development."

Lee Seul-ki, CEO of D&D Pharmatech, said, "By fusing LG AI Research's world-class AI capabilities and data-driven learning know-how with D&D Pharmatech's experience in peptide development, we will innovatively boost the efficiency of AI-driven drug development," adding, "We will demonstrate our technological leadership in the global market within the field of oral peptides, such as macrocyclic peptides, which have recently been spotlighted."

                                                                                                             Choi In-gyu