SK Chemicals is strengthening its drug development capabilities through open innovation.
The company announced on December 26 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NextGen BioScience to jointly identify new drug development projects and collaborate on research and development.
The agreement aims to combine the two companies’ respective technologies and experience in drug discovery to identify novel drug candidates, particularly in disease areas where effective treatment options remain limited, and to expand collaborative research efforts.
Under the MOU, the two companies will cooperate across the entire drug development process, including joint discovery of new drug candidates, execution of collaborative research projects, shared use of research facilities and equipment, and exchanges of research personnel, technologies, and scientific information.
Founded in 2018, NextGen BioScience is a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for autoimmune and fibrotic diseases. The company leverages its AI-based drug discovery platform, Fibrain™, which enables rapid identification of promising drug candidates. Fibrain™ integrates capabilities such as drug modeling, compound synthesis, screening, and preclinical and clinical development. Using this platform, NextGen BioScience is advancing pipelines targeting conditions such as alopecia areata, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and wet age-related macular degeneration. Some of its projects have recently been selected as national research initiatives or have progressed into clinical stages, demonstrating tangible progress.
SK Chemicals is also conducting research on drug pipelines across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology and fibrotic diseases, and has accumulated development and regulatory experience from preclinical through clinical stages. Through its open innovation strategy, the company has been actively collaborating with external partners to secure early-stage drug candidates.
Based on the agreement, the two companies plan to explore collaboration opportunities throughout all stages of drug development, from early candidate discovery to preclinical and clinical development. They also intend to identify new joint research projects and pursue them in a phased manner.
Lee Bong-yong, CEO of NextGen BioScience, said that the partnership with SK Chemicals will help accelerate the transition of lead compounds identified at an early stage into full-scale development. He added that the two companies aim to establish a collaboration model that delivers tangible development outcomes through the agreement.
