Syntekabio expands to US with local CRO

South Korean artificial intelligence (AI) drugmaker Syntekabio Inc. has partnered up with a US clinical research organization (CRO) to enter the world’s largest market for drug development.

Syntekabio aims to boost its potential global customer base and its network in America.

Syntekabio on Monday said it signed a memorandum of understanding on business development with the New York-based Target Health, a CRO founded in 1993 by former Pfizer executive Jules Mitchell that has supported over 1,000 clinical trials and licensing processes.

This is Syntekabio’s first MOU with an American company.

The two companies will bring Sintekabio’s AI-based drug cloud solution STBcloud and development platform candidate DeepMatcher to the U.S. market.

STB Cloud is a new drug development platform whose biggest strength is simplification and automation of the drug discovery process available anytime and anywhere. DeepMatcher needs just four weeks to select effective drug candidates from a billion compounds and another four weeks to deliver leading candidates, Sintekabio said.

Write to Jeong Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com