South Korea holds consultative meeting to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug development

The meeting brought together officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other relevant government agencies, alongside leading pharmaceutical companies, including Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea is aiming to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, with a focus on promoting the use of AI in drug development, in response to the intensifying global competition in the bio-health sector, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said on Thursday.

The ministry held a consultative meeting with private sector stakeholders to discuss ways to foster an environment where AI can be effectively utilized in drug development, Yonhap news agency reported.

Officials from the ministry and other relevant government agencies attended the meeting, along with executives from major pharmaceutical companies, including Daewoong Pharmaceutical.

The meeting served as a platform to listen to the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry and to explore directions for public-private cooperation in promoting AI-based drug development and effective data usage, the Ministry said.

The global AI biotechnology market is expected to grow over 19 per cent annually, reaching $7.75 billion by 2029, while South Korea currently ranks third in the world in the number of AI bio-related patent applications.

"AI is rapidly permeating the entire biotechnology industry," the finance ministry said. "It is emerging as a core technology across areas, such as new drug development, protein structure prediction and design, and gene therapy."

The ministry stressed that countries are now in fierce competition to preemptively secure AI capabilities and apply them effectively in the bio-health field.

In particular, AI-powered drug development is revolutionizing the traditional pharmaceutical research and development process, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, South Korea plans to pour 60 billion won (about $40.4 million) by 2028 to expand infrastructure for the development of materials and components technologies crucial for advanced industries, such as AI, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said on Thursday.

The investment will be used to build research facilities and equipment for the development and testing of technologies related to materials and components essential for AI, advanced bio, and other future industries, the ministry said.

In particular, the government will support the construction of infrastructure for the development of core materials for next-generation AI chips, messenger RNA-based drugs, and others, the ministry said.