SK Telecom与SK Biopharmaceuticals用AI发现ROR1早期先导化合物并称研发周期缩短逾60%

SK Telecom (017670.KS) and SK Biopharmaceuticals (326030.KS) have succeeded in using artificial intelligence (AI) to discover early lead compounds for use in developing targeted therapies for intractable cancers. Another achievement was completing early-stage research in about five months, a process that previously took one to two years, cutting the research period by more than 60%.
SK Telecom said on the 15th that it had discovered two early lead compounds that can be used to develop targeted cancer therapy candidates through joint research with SK Biopharmaceuticals. Early lead compounds are substances confirmed through experiments to bind effectively to a specific target, marking the starting point for verifying their potential to be developed into therapeutic candidates.
The two companies used AI to generate a large volume of binder candidates capable of binding to "ROR1," a protein found on the surface of cancer cells, and then selected substances with high potential. Subsequent laboratory verification confirmed that two binders had the potential to serve as early lead compounds. A binder is a substance designed to recognize and bind to a specific target such as a cancer cell. Discovering a new binder requires considering multiple conditions together, including not only binding strength with the target but also the structural stability of the substance.
In this research, SK Biopharmaceuticals established a strategy for discovering new binders based on the drug development experience it has accumulated. SK Telecom used AI to rapidly generate a large volume of binder candidates and narrowed down which ones to verify in the laboratory. In particular, SK Telecom applied machine learning technology that combines and structures protein fragments in various ways. It also had the AI seek out the optimal binder structure by awarding higher rewards to structurally stable combinations.
As a result, the two companies completed the research in about five months. This cut the early-stage drug development research period, which typically took one to two years under SK Biopharmaceuticals' existing methods, by more than 60%. The achievement demonstrates the potential for AI to handle the generation and selection of candidate substances, reducing the time and cost involved in the early stages of drug development. Cho Dong-yeon, head of AI Convergence at SK Telecom, said, "Based on this achievement, we are also reviewing plans to expand the scope of our technology cooperation across bio AI as a whole, including developing a bio-specialized large language model (LLM) using our proprietary AI foundation model."