Jeju University Launches AI-Driven Bioindustry Support Platform

On the 15th, Jeju National University (President Yang Deok-soon) announced the launch of the "AI-based One-Stop Intelligent Bioindustry Support Platform" during a ceremony held at Maison Glad Jeju’s Ruby Hall. This initiative marks a pivotal step towards the digital transformation and innovative growth of Jeju's bioindustry ecosystem.

The launch event is part of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Regional Innovation Cluster Development project, designed to promote the development and service of a one-stop intelligent industrial support platform based on local resources. It serves to communicate the future vision and innovative strategies of the Jeju bioindustry.

This project, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), is a collaborative endeavor with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Jeju Regional Industry Promotion Agency. It involves a total investment of 16.8 billion Korean won, aimed at transitioning Jeju's bioindustry ecosystem into an AI-driven industrial structure, extending beyond just support for research and development.

Despite possessing rich natural resources and strong research capabilities, Jeju’s bioindustry has historically faced challenges such as slow industrialization and limited global competitiveness due to disjointed processes for material discovery, efficacy validation, approval, and commercialization. Jeju National University aims to address these issues by establishing the AI-powered support platform that integrates food, cosmetics, and convergence bio-industries, facilitating a comprehensive support system from R&D to commercialization and global market entry.

A notable feature of this initiative is the partnership with Calici Co., Ltd., a leading AI-based drug development platform company in South Korea. Calici operates Pharmaco-Net, an AI-driven platform for drug discovery and functional material identification, showcasing superior capabilities in efficacy prediction, toxicity assessment, ADMET analysis, and candidate compound exploration and optimization.

Utilizing technologies such as AI-driven absorption prediction, toxicity prediction, physiological activity prediction, and biomarker analysis, the collaboration between Jeju National University and Calici is set to significantly enhance the potential for successfully industrializing Jeju’s natural resources. Together, they plan to transform the development system for functional foods, cosmetics, peptides, and convergence bio-materials from a traditional experience-based research approach to a data-driven AI research model.

The platform will involve a consortium of local bioindustry companies, including Haram Co., Ltd., Einz Co., Ltd., Pharmacro, Rapique Co., Ltd., Human Skin Clinical Trial Center, Povai Bio Korea Co., Ltd., and BJY, collaboratively advancing the development of health functional food materials, functional cosmetics, and AI-designed functional peptides.

Key support functions of the platform will include the establishment of an integrated database for Jeju's natural resources, AI-based functional material recommendations, efficacy and toxicity prediction services, certification support for health functional foods and cosmetics, global approval assistance, and technology commercialization and export support. Through this initiative, Jeju National University aims to elevate the local industry structure centered around natural resources to an AI-based digital bioindustry framework, fostering a new interconnected industrial ecosystem among food, cosmetics, and convergence bioindustries.

Professor Kang Hee-kyung of Jeju National University, the project leader, stated, “This initiative represents a new challenge that combines Jeju’s natural resources with AI technology to drive innovative growth in the local industry,” pledging to establish a comprehensive support system from R&D to commercialization to secure global competitiveness for local enterprises. Professor Hyun Chang-gu of the Department of Chemical Cosmetics at Jeju National University emphasized that this platform is not just a business support project, but a transformative effort for the Jeju bioindustry ecosystem aimed at enhancing competitiveness across the board by linking AI technology with Jeju's natural resources.

Ultimately, Jeju National University anticipates improvements in the success rates of local enterprise technology commercialization, advancements in functional material development, expansion of global certifications, and strengthening export competitiveness, thereby generating new growth momentum for the Jeju bioindustry.