SEOUL -- Oncocross, an AI biotech company specializing in drug discovery and development, announced that it has signed a joint research agreement with JW Pharmaceutical to develop new drugs based on the AI platform.

Under this contract, the two companies will join research efforts to identify and verify development possibilities for new indications for the ‘first-in-class’ drug pipeline that JW Pharmaceutical is developing in the area of anticancer and regenerative medicine.

For this purpose, Oncocross’s proprietary AI platform RAPTOR AI™ will be utilized. RAPTOR AI™ is an AI drug development platform that screens the optimal or additional indications for drug candidates or existing drugs. The platform provides AI capabilities necessary for pharmaceutical companies' new drug development, resulting in higher accuracy, reduced cost, and shorter development time compared to traditional methods.

Previously, the two companies signed a joint research agreement to identify new indications for drug candidates in 2022. Through this joint research, JW Pharmaceutical has secured positive data on expanding an orphan disease indication for the new drug candidate and is establishing a follow-up development plan.

Having previously verified the RAPTOR AI™ technology, JW Pharmaceutical once again expects to reduce the time required for new indication screening and increase the probability of success in clinical studies for the ‘first-in-class’ drug pipelines.

JW Pharmaceutical said, “The level of innovation we are focusing on requires high R&D capabilities and substantial costs and time to discover new drug candidates and indications,” adding, “We will continue to pursue diverse partnerships with innovative local and global biotech companies that possess new technologies such as Oncocross.”

Dr. Yirang Kim, CEO of Oncocross commented, “This follow-on collaboration is significant in the sense that the utility and commercial value of RAPTOR AI™ has been recognized in the market.” He further added, “We will continue to do our best to set examples of collaboration between large pharmaceutical companies and biotech in the AI drug development field.”