Celltrion said it has signed a joint research and development agreement with Basgen Bio, a big data company, to strengthen its bio data analysis capabilities.

Under the contract, the two companies will form a joint research committee and conduct 10 related joint research and development projects over the next five years to secure genomic analysis capabilities and discover new biomarkers.

With this agreement, Celltrion will expand its R&D activities beyond developing conventional pharmaceuticals to analyzing bio big data.

Celltrion will work with Basgen Bio to discover genomic biomarkers to help define optimal patient populations for drugs, identify disease targets, screen candidates, and apply the technology to clinical design.

Biomarkers are indicators that can identify changes in the body using proteins, DNA, RNA (ribonucleic acid), and metabolites.

According to Celltrion, biomarkers have recently gained attention in the market due to the increasing demand for precision medicine and the prediction that biomarkers can objectively measure disease diagnosis and drug treatment response.

As a result, big global pharmaceutical companies are also actively securing biomarker-related technologies.

Basgen Bio, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based bio big data company established in 2018, focuses on biomarker discovery and AI drug development and has its own biomarker discovery solution TLBM (Time-Labeled BioMarker) to predict and diagnose changes in disease risk over time, and DEEPCT (DEEP learning-based Clinical Trial) solution to predict drug effects through simulation (in silico).

The company has also secured exclusive rights to use genomic cohort data of about 160,000 people.

In addition to the collaboration agreement, Celltrion has also signed an equity investment agreement with Basgen Bio.

"Through the joint R&D agreement with Basgen Bio, we will be able to secure our data utilization capabilities and quickly prepare for the paradigm shift in the drug market to precision medicine," a Celltrion official said. "The addition of Basgen Bio's AI bio big data technology to Celltrion's experience in antibody drug development and sales will maximize synergies for new drug development and solidify the market position of Celltrion's drugs."