JW Pharmaceutical said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Syntekabio to jointly research drugs using the latter’s genome big data-based artificial intelligence (AI) platform.

Under the accord, JW Pharma plans to increase the efficiency of research and development (R&D) by utilizing Syntekabio’s “Personal Genome Map Platform' (PMAP),” the drug reactivity prediction technology, to explore biomarkers of new drug candidates

The company also plans to apply Syntekabio’s platform in the field of regenerative medicine to the treatment of neurological diseases and the expansion of the indications for its marketed drugs.

The two companies intend to expand further their scope of collaboration to precision medicine, such as comprehensive nutrition and infusion system related to nutritional supply and immunity promotion in the body.

“To dramatically increase the success rate of new drug development and to succeed in the cutthroat pharmaceutical market, a fusion research strategy through open innovation is critical,” JW Pharmaceutical CEO Jeon Jae-kwang said. “We will strive to create innovative results through cooperation with Syntekabio.”

Syntekabio also seemed enthusiastic about the newly signed contract.

"By collaborating, we aim to shorten the development time, reduce costs and increase the value of developed drugs, and bring forth the precision medical drug development era," Syntekabio CEO Tyson Kim said to Korea Biomedical Review over the phone.

Syntekabio is a company that utilizes genomic big data to usher in a tailored medical service era. It uses bioinformatics, which includes its in-silico platform, a virtual clinical trial system using computer simulation techniques for the development of new drugs. The system can also algorithmically identify disease-related and mutational potentials in genes, as well as recommending a tailored medication to patients.