Seoul, May 15
The South Korean government on Thursday held a consultative meeting with private sector stakeholders to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug development in response to the intensifying global competition in the bio-health sector.
The meeting brought together officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other relevant government agencies, alongside leading pharmaceutical companies, including Daewoong Pharmaceutical, news agency reported.
As per the Ministry, the discussions were focused on boosting AI-based drug development and promoting effective data usage, with sessions serving as a platform to listen to challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry and to explore directions for public-private cooperation.
The global AI biotechnology market is projected to grow over 19 per cent annually, reaching $7.75 billion by 2029. South Korea currently ranks third globally 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 emphasised 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.