New Drug Development to Be 10 Times Faster with AI... Government Launches "K-Moonshot AI New Drug" Initiative
On-site Opinion Gathering Session Held
Pushing Forward to Establish an AI-based Drug Development Ecosystem by 2035
The Ministry of Science and ICT is set to launch the “K-Moonshot AI New Drug Mission,” aiming to dramatically accelerate the speed of new drug development using artificial intelligence (AI). By shifting all stages of the new drug development process—from candidate compound discovery to drug design and the prediction of efficacy and toxicity—to an AI-centered approach, the ministry’s goal is to make the discovery phase of new drugs ten times faster by 2035 compared to the current pace.
On July 20, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it held the “K-Moonshot AI New Drug Mission On-site Opinion Gathering Session” at The Catholic University of Korea, with experts from industry, academia, research, and healthcare present to discuss the mission’s direction and implementation strategies.
The K-Moonshot AI New Drug Mission is a national research and development (R&D) project designed to revolutionize new drug development by merging AI and biotechnology. The government plans to connect bio-data, AI models, and automated experimental infrastructure to transition the current discovery-based drug development paradigm to an AI-based, design-centered system.
At the event, Nam Jinwoo, professor at Hanyang University and program director (PD) of the AI New Drug Mission, presented the initiative’s background and roadmap. Professor Nam stated, “Korea’s new drug pipeline ranks third in the world in terms of quantity, but to secure global competitiveness, we need to significantly enhance our actual development capabilities. By increasing the speed of drug discovery by ten times by 2035, we will open new possibilities for overcoming incurable diseases.”
During the ensuing discussion, the core tasks identified for strengthening the country’s AI drug development competitiveness included securing and establishing systems for utilizing high-quality bio-data, developing AI models, expanding research infrastructure, reinforcing cooperation among industry, academia, research, and healthcare sectors, and connecting research outcomes with industrialization.
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Kim Sungsoo, policy chief for R&D at the Ministry of Science and ICT, remarked, “The convergence of AI and biotechnology is a future growth driver and a critical sector that will determine national competitiveness. We will incorporate feedback from the field to further detail the execution strategy of the K-Moonshot AI New Drug Mission and build a world-class research and development environment.”
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