LG collaborates with JAX on AI health solutions

[Courtesy of LG]

LG AI Research will collaborate with the U.S.-based genomics research institution, Jackson Laboratory (JAX), to conduct joint AI research that aims to unravel the mysteries of Alzheimer‘s and cancer.

The company said on Monday that LG AI Research recently finalized the main agreement for this collaboration with JAX following a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2023.

JAX is a genomics-focused non-profit research institution renowned for its expertise in designing and producing genetically modified mice. It possesses a wealth of research data on various genetic mutations and genes associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Under the partnership agreement, the duo will work together to develop an AI model capable of analyzing the causes and progression of Alzheimer‘s and cancer, as well as predicting the efficacy of treatments. JAX will provide genetic characteristics of Alzheimer’s and research data from different life stages to train LG‘s generative AI, EXAONE, with the aim of analyzing disease etiology and improving treatment outcomes.

LG AI Research and JAX will also jointly craft AI models for use in cancer diagnosis and treatment, including a multi-modal generative AI model designed to rapidly diagnose cancer from pathological images and forecast treatment outcomes. An innovative interactive model that recommends personalized cancer treatment options tailored to individual genomic profiles is also currently in development.

The two parties anticipate that AI will expedite drug candidate discovery and increase success rates in preclinical and clinical trials for cancer treatment. They also foresee the AI models resulting from their collaboration ushering in a new era of precision medicine, where personalized treatments based on genetic mutations become feasible.

“We pledge our commitment to leveraging AI technology in the biotechnology sector to achieve significant progress,” LG AI Research head Bae Kyung-hoon said.

For its part, LG Group’s LG Display Co. reported that it had successfully raised funds in a recent capital increase largely led by voluntary subscriptions from internal employees, signaling a turnaround from 2023‘s losses.

According to industry sources on Monday, LG Display’s capital increase, conducted during the previous week, was fully subscribed with 142,184,300 new shares issued.

Out of the 142,184,300 new shares, all 28,436,860 shares allocated to the company‘s employee stock ownership association were fully subscribed, marking the first time since January 2022 that employee share subscription at Samsung Biologics Co. hit 100 percent. Existing shareholders also showed strong interest, resulting in an overall subscription rate of 106.1 percent.

The 1.29 trillion won ($983.6 million) raised from the capital increase will be used to bolster the competitiveness of the company’s organic light-emitting diode (OLED) business and lay the groundwork for future growth, aiming to accelerate its performance improvement efforts, the company said.