Syntekabio Unveils ‘Super-Gap’ Collaboration Model at APEC Event

AI drug discovery enters results-driven era; $337B target program announced

(Photo by Syntekabio)

[Song Young Doo, Edaily Reporter] Syntekabio said on the 29th that it presented an “AI & Cloud-based Super-Gap Drug Discovery and Collaboration Business Model” at the Global Super-Gap Tech Conference, the country’s largest deep-tech startup forum.

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery and Nature Biotechnology have recently assessed that competition in AI-based drug discovery is entering full swing. As initiatives such as the CACHE Challenge(Critical Assessment of Computational Hit-Finding Experiments) begin to validate AI’s tangible contributions, investor and industry attention is shifting to demonstrable outcomes from AI drug discovery companies.

Hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the event convened domestic and international startups, large corporations, public institutions, and venture capital firms to accelerate strategies for new technologies in AI and other deep-tech fields, and to support global expansion. The forum was organized as a follow-up to the “APEC Startup Alliance” launched in August under Korea’s leadership and ran as an official side event during APEC Leaders’ Week through December 2.

Now in its third year, this year’s conference was held under the theme “AX for ALL(AI Transformation Across Nations),” featuring technical forums across 10 emerging industries centered on AI, along with panel discussions, open-innovation sessions, and a technology exhibition.

“In tandem with large-scale data centers, AI is removing bottlenecks in the drug discovery ecosystem and dramatically accelerating R&D,” said Syntekabio CEO Jong-Sun Jeong during his talk, as he introduced the company’s ABS data-center based AI discovery platform.

Syntekabio has built an AI drug discovery infrastructure spanning antibodies, small molecules, and cancer vaccines around its 15-MW ABS Center located in the Daedeok Innopolis. Its flagship platforms include “DeepMatcher™,” a cloud-based AI discovery platform, and “LMVS(Language Model Virtual Screening),” a large-language-model driven system that screens 10 billion compounds.

LMVS rapidly identifies high-quality hits from vast compound libraries using language-model techniques and is regarded as a core competitive edge underpinning Syntekabio’s super-gap strategy.

The company also outlined an AI-driven collaboration business model for global pharma and research institutions. Operated as SaaS, the LMVS platform is available via annual subscriptions or API-based usage pricing. This enables a stable recurring-revenue structure while also supporting fee-for-service projects to generate additional income.

Syntekabio plans to run an AI-Driven Asset Program for a “global on-demand target” list more than 20 antibody targets and more than 20 small-molecule targets. Priority disease areas include oncology, immunology, and metabolic disorders, with a combined current market size of about $337 billion(approximately 450 trillion won).

Using its proprietary platforms, the company designs and validates candidates and advances them efficiently through preclinical stages via linkages with global CROs and partners. Syntekabio says it has already supplied hits for roughly 30 targets and is strengthening its position in the global discovery market through a track record of AI-designed co-development and deliveries.

“Syntekabio’s super-gap discovery model that fuses AI with cloud infrastructure is highly competitive globally,” Jeong said. “We will continue expanding a collaborative ecosystem around the ABS Center and, through this official APEC event, broaden partnerships while leading innovation in the global drug discovery landscape with our AI- and cloud-based super-gap platform.”

송영두 (songzio@edaily.co.kr)