Standigm Inc. ("Standigm"), the leading workflow artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery company, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Merck Korea, for AI-based drug discovery research. The MOU signing took place on May 30 at the headquarters of Standigm, attended by Sojeong Yun, CEO of Standigm, and Stephen Namkoo Lee, the Head of Science and Lab Solutions, Life Science business sector of Merck Korea.

Under the MOU, Standigm will accelerate its drug discovery research by adopting Merck's AI software SYNTHIA™. which can help Standigm's novel compound synthesis. SYNTHIA™ is a computer-aided retrosynthetic design tool and unites network theory, modern high-power computing, and expert chemical knowledge to rapidly design synthetic pathways.

"Applying AI to the drug discovery process can dramatically reduce time in discovering novel drug candidates and finding optimized synthesis paths," said Sojeong Yun, co-founder and CEO of Standigm. "By pooling know-how in AI synthesis of Merck and Standigm's AI technology together, we expect better results in drug discovery faster, compared to the traditional AI drug discovery method," she added.

"Candidate chemical discovery using AI technology for new drug development is playing a crucial role in the growth of local bioindustry," said Stephen Nam-Koo Lee, Head of Science and Lab Solutions for South Korea, Life Science business sector, Merck Korea.

As a leading workflow AI drug discovery company, Standigm has actively conducted research on AI technology in organic synthesis at its own Synthetic Research Center, established last year.