According to Yonhap News,

The government will invest KRW 37.4 billion in innovative research and development (R&D) projects this year, including the development of medical technologies that use artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to precisely target cancer cells.

On August 3, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) said that it would publicly announce eight new projects for the "AI-based Targeted Customized Medicine Manufacturing Autonomous Lab Technology Development Project" by August 25.

This project aims to improve bio-manufacturing productivity and establish a foundation for next-generation pharmaceutical development in Korea by introducing an AI and robotics-based pharmaceutical automation design and manufacturing system.

Specifically, the project will carry out eight sub-projects, including the development of an AI model for predicting the design and manufacturing pathways of next-generation pharmaceutical drugs, such as Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC), the development of related manufacturing automation modules, and the establishment of an integrated automation system (workstation).

ADC is a next-generation anticancer drug formed by chemically linking antibodies (Antibody), drugs (Drug), and linkers (Linker). Unlike traditional chemotherapy, which damages healthy cells, ADC selectively binds to specific antigens on the surface of cancer cells and delivers drugs to the cell interior to kill the tumor.

With the project selected as part of the second supplementary budget this year, the MOTIE has secured a budget of KRW 37.4 billion to begin supporting the project in the second half of the year. Earlier, global consulting firm McKinsey analyzed in its 2022 report that applying digital technologies such as AI and robotics could increase bio-manufacturing productivity by about 30-60% compared to traditional methods.

The MOTIE stated, "We will actively support this project to create best practices for AI applications in the bio-industry, and continue to focus on supporting innovations in next-generation pharmaceutical manufacturing in domestic bio-companies."


dkkim@yna.co.kr
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Source: Yonhap News (August 3, 2025)

** This article was translated from Korean.