Backed by AI technology, Aigen Sciences Inc. raised ₩12 billion (US$8.8 million) in a series A financing round to further advance its cancer and rare disease drug pipelines. Aigen said Oct. 16 that the series A round was joined by existing investors Partners Investment, Quad Investment Management and Medytox Venture Investment, as well new investors Premier Partners, K2 Investment Partners and Scale Up Partners.

“For us geeks, this is the trailer. This isn’t the movie,” John Stanford told BioWorld as he reacted to the prices the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Aug. 15 for the 10 drugs selected for the first round of negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. While the prices are generally in line with what was expected, Stanford said they raise more questions than answers. The rationale for those prices, which must be released by March 1, will be part 1 of the movie as it should provide some insight into the price setting, said Stanford, the executive director of Incubate, a coalition of investors in the early stage life sciences sector.

In Pumpkinseed Technologies Inc.’s first public patenting, the company’s co-founders describe their development of new proteomics platform that merges nanotechnology, biochemistry, silicon photonics and machine learning for high-resolution phenotyping to deliver new biological insights.

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery firm Quantumpharm Inc., also known as Xtalpi, began trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange June 13, listing under a new special technology listing track that lured it away from an IPO in the U.S.

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery firm Quantumpharm Inc., also known as Xtalpi, began trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange June 13, listing under a new special technology listing track that lured it away from an IPO in the U.S.

As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”

As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”