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LG, SNU say their new AI could find a cure for cancer

Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 18:07 Updated: 06 Feb. 2025, 18:51

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

LG AI Research President Bae Kyung-hoon, left, and Seoul National University Professor Baek Min-kyung take a commemorative photo after signing a joint agreement at the LG Science Park in western Seoul on Feb. 5. [LG]

LG AI Research will release a model capable of predicting complex protein structures this year in collaboration with a research team from Seoul National University (SNU), aiming to accelerate new drug development.

The project’s focus is getting AI to accurately predict the structures of multistate proteins — proteins that exist in various forms within the human body, depending on environmental and chemical changes — which are essential for understanding the mechanisms behind diseases.

While global companies, with advanced AI, are able to predict single protein structures, multistate ones still remain a challenge due to the complex ways proteins change within the human body under different conditions, according to the research institute.

LG AI Research signed a joint research agreement with Prof. Baek Min-kyung from SNU's Department of Biological Sciences at LG Science Park in western Seoul on Wednesday.

The project’s success could mark a breakthrough in the treatment of intractable diseases such as cancer while also contributing to ongoing research into a cure for Alzheimer's, which is underway with the U.S.-based Jackson Laboratory.

“The key to solving intractable diseases like Alzheimer’s lies in understanding protein structures,” said Lee Soon-young, head of the Bio Intelligence Lab at LG AI Research. “This innovation will significantly advance our understanding of disease mechanisms and open new pathways for drug discovery.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]