'The convergence between of AI and the Biology' LG Creates "Next-Generation Protein Structure Prediction AI" for Drug Discovery

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On the 5th, LG AI Research signed a joint research agreement at the Global Lounge of LG Science Park in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, with Prof. Min-Kyung Baek from the school of Biological Sciences at Seoul National University to develop a "next-generation protein structure prediction AI."

Proteins are key biomolecular substances involved in all activities of the human body. To create a "digital cell map" that can be used throughout the entire process of identifying disease causes and accelerating new drugs and treatments discovery technology for predicting protein structures is essential.

Global tech giants are advancing their protein prediction AI technologies, but they are still focused on predicting and designing single protein structures. Predicting "multistate" protein structures which exist in various forms in the human body due to environmental and chemical changes remains a challenge.

Prof. Min-Kyung Baek, a world-renowned expert in protein structure prediction, co-developed "RoseTTAFold" alongside Prof. David Baker from the University of Washington, who was awarded last year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his AI-based research.

In collaboration with Prof. Min-Kyung Baek's research team, LG AI Research aims to develop an AI model for protein multistate structure prediction by the end of the year, addressing current technological limitations. This breakthrough is expected to provide deeper insights into biological processes and accelerate drug development. 

"While AI is a powerful tool for predicting protein structures, its underlying principles are still not fully understood," said Prof. Min-Kyung Baek. "Through our joint research with LG AI Research, we aim to push protein structure prediction to a new level—one that incorporates verification and experimentation."

Soonyoung Lee, Bio Intelligence Lab Leader at LG AI Research, added, "The complexity of protein structures is at the heart of incurable diseases like Alzheimer's, and unraveling them is a highly challenging task. By developing AI for protein multistate structure prediction, we expect to achieve breakthroughs in understanding disease mechanisms and developing new treatments—much like unlocking a lock."

Meanwhile, LG expects that this joint research will further accelerate the discovery of Alzheimer's factors and the development of new drugs, which are currently being conducted in collaboration with The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), a U.S.-based nonprofit genomics research organization.

Since early last year, LG AI Research has been collaborating with The Jackson Laboratory to develop predictive AI technologies for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's and cancer.

Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman and CEO of LG Group, stated in his 2025 new year address, " Through healthcare solutions and innovative new medicines, we aim to help people spend more time with loved ones," expressing his commitment to fostering the biology business as one of LG's future growth drivers.

LG expects this collaboration to be a significant milestone in achieving results from the convergence of AI and Biology, which are part of its future growth drivers, ABC (AI, Bio, Cleantech).

For more information, visit https://www.lgresearch.ai/news/view?seq=524

About LG Group

LG Group is a leading global company representing South Korea, offering innovative products and services across various industries such as electronics, chemicals, telecommunications, and energy. Established in 1947, LG Group has grown into a world-renowned brand through its activities in these diverse fields. The company is committed to continuous research and development, focusing on innovation to enhance the quality of life for its customers. Emphasizing its role as a socially responsible enterprise, LG Group is striving to strengthen its competitiveness in the global market and achieve sustainable growth through its future portfolio in areas like AI, Bio, and Cleantech. The company is dedicated to realizing its vision of being a business that provides value to customers and society, pursuing this mission with unwavering determination. For more information, visit https://www.lgcorp.com

About LG AI Research

Launched in December 2020 as the artificial intelligence (AI) research hub of South Korea's LG Group, LG AI Research aims to lead the next epoch of artificial intelligence (AI) to realize a promising future by providing optimal research environments and leveraging state-of-the-art AI technologies. And LG AI Research developed its large-scale AI, EXAONE, a 300 billion parametric multimodal AI model, in 2021. EXAONE, which stands for "Expert AI for Everyone," is a multi-modal large-scale AI model that stands out from its peers due to its ability to process both language and visual data. With one of the world's largest learning data capacities, LG AI Research aims to engineer better business decisions through its state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies and its continuous effort on fundamental AI research. For more information, visit https://www.lgresearch.ai/.

SOURCE LG Corp.