LG Chem (051910) is expanding its use of artificial intelligence in drug development beyond identifying drug candidates to selecting patients for clinical trials. The strategy is to use AI to find patients expected to respond well to treatment, raising the odds that trials succeed, while speeding up development of personalized cancer vaccines.
LG Chem said on the 21st that it held the 2026 LG AI Bio Conference on the 20th at LG Science Park in Seoul's Gangseo district, together with LG AI Research and Flagship Pioneering, a U.S. biotech venture capital firm. About 140 executives and researchers from AI bio companies in Korea and abroad attended the inaugural event to discuss AI-based drug development and global partnerships.
LG Chem plans to apply AI not only to the search for drug candidates but also to decision-making during clinical development. In precision oncology in particular, the company will focus on analyzing patients' biological characteristics and identifying biomarkers to screen for patients suited to clinical trials. The aim is to improve the efficiency of drug development and the likelihood of clinical success.
AI is also being applied to the development of a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. The company is building and refining an AI model that analyzes the characteristics of each patient's cancer cells to predict neoantigens capable of triggering an immune response. LG Chem aims to complete preclinical work in 2027 and enter full clinical development in 2029.
The event also featured examples of technology development by global AI bio companies. Insilico Medicine presented a case in which a drug candidate discovered using generative AI advanced to the clinical stage. Lila Sciences introduced the concept of an autonomous laboratory, in which AI agents repeatedly carry out drug design, synthesis, experimentation and learning. Inocras and Portrai shared patient selection strategies based on genomic data and spatial biology.
"AI is evolving into a core engine that determines competitiveness, not an auxiliary tool for drug development," said Son Ji-woong, president and head of LG Chem's Life Sciences Company. "The competitiveness of future drug development does not stop at finding structurally superior drugs. It lies in using AI to find the patients who will respond best to treatment."