South Korean biotech and AI sectors see major technological advancements

South Korean biotechnology and artificial intelligence sectors are seeing significant advancements through technology exports and major research funding. In the biotech sector, Korean companies are increasingly exporting platform technologies and specialized mechanisms rather than just individual drug candidates. As of September, Korean biotech technology exports reached 13 cases with a disclosed contract value exceeding 21 trillion won. Notable examples include Alteogen, which secured partnerships with global firms like Novartis using its ALT-B4 platform to convert intravenous drugs to subcutaneous injections, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical, which licensed drug candidates to Eli Lilly and Genentech for gastrointestinal and metabolic disease treatments.

In the field of artificial intelligence, POSTECH has been selected for two major national research projects funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT. These projects, totaling 22 billion won through 2031, aim to develop core technologies for next-generation robot AI and medical Agentic AI. The research will focus on creating high-reliability AI for industrial environments and multimodal AI systems capable of assisting in clinical decision-making and medical image analysis.