I recently read an insightful article, “The rock path from PhD to CEO,” in C&EN that discussed the evolving landscape of scientific innovation. Historically, large corporations heavily invested in basic science, leading to groundbreaking discoveries. Today, however, small startups are at the forefront of pursuing these impactful outcom...

Reading the C&EN article titled “India Seeks a Seat at the Drug Services Table”reminds me of my experience at the BIO International Convention 2024 held in San Diego this June. South Korea proudly showcased several world-class biopharmaceutical CDMO companies, including Celltrion and Samsung Biologics. Their large booths and active par...

In this Nature editorial article, the discussion focuses on the research shortage in South Korea. The issues highlighted in the article can be summarized into three main points: First, there is a significant gender imbalance. Second, South Korea has an extremely low birth rate. Third, the mobility of researchers between academia and in...

Biotech companies primarily generate revenue from the outcomes of their research in drug discovery and development, while pharmaceutical companies deal with a wider range of products, selling various drugs directly. However, both industries face challenges because of strict regulations from agencies like the FDA, which limit the speed ...

Recently, I read a book titled “Digital Transformation: A Field Manual,” authored by two Koreans, Park Soo-Jung and Kim Kuk-Hyun. Delving into the secrets of digital transformation is the main focus of this book, as indicated by the title. There’s a standout sentence in the book's preface. “For those thinking about business transformat...

This article, titled “AI start-ups: Don’t sell picks and shovels, dig with them,” compellingly argues that AI startups should not just sell their tools but build full-stack companies to directly leverage their technology. There are several reasons for this, but the two most important can be summarized as follows: Existing companies fac...

Yesterday, I read a book titled “For Blood and Money.” While it was fascinating to delve into the history and behind-the-scenes of the development of irreversible BTK inhibitors (ibrutinib and acalabrutinib), it was equally meaningful to compare the drug discovery/development stages and various program progresses I have experienced wit...

In my past articles, I highlight how crucial efficient communication tools are in data-driven drug discovery research. Data generated by experts in various fields, who have dedicated years to their respective domains, needs to be managed, integrated, and analyzed with precision. Hence, a system that can handle these tasks efficiently i...

I took part in the 2024 CDD Korean Life Science Community Meeting on July 18, 2024. The event included excellent research presentations from speakers representing several Korean companies, as well as informative introductions to the features of the CDD Vault system. I, as the Chair, moderated a panel discussion titled “The Impact of AI...

The effectiveness of a meeting largely depends on the meeting organizer, making them responsible for most of the reasons behind inefficient meetings. I’ve put together a list of inefficient meetings I’ve encountered in various contexts. Meetings without clear objectives for decision-making “The CEO was unhappy with how the employees we...

Meetings are among the most expensive forms of communication. Considering the time and opportunity costs for participants, it becomes evident. Therefore, every company must ensure that meetings yield results worthy of the investment. Surprisingly, many meetings are conducted inefficiently or even hinder collaboration. In this article, ...

The R&D environment in the pharmaceutical industry differs significantly from other fields. Above all, the most noticeable difference is the time it takes to create a final product, i.e., a drug approved by regulatory agencies. Although there are various milestones before the final product is achieved and these milestones take relative...

My personal blog has been around for 20 years since I posted the first article in June 2004, and by 2024, I have written a total of 328 articles. This means I have posted about 16 articles per year. The blog covers a variety of personal topics, so the density of the articles is low, and there are not many visitors. Recently, due to var...

Assessing R&D productivity is a critical challenge in the pharmaceutical industry. Traditionally, the most common analysis has been to compare the number of approved drugs to R&D costs. While this approach offers a high-level perspective, it falls short as an effective measure of R&D strategy shifts or the impact of new technology adop...

I attended the Spotfire Pharmaceutical Workshop 2024 (Korean language only) on July 4, 2024. Among the materials presented by Shionogi, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, there was an especially impressive graph. This graphs emphasized that everyone at Shionogi has access to this program, and the number of users has increased over time...

그리운이라는 사이트가 있다. 내가 쓴 손글씨를 사용해서 글꼴을 만들어 주는 서비스이다. 아마도 AI 모델들을 이용해서 폰트 제작 시간을 많이 줄일 수 있기 때문에 이런 서비스가 가능한 것이라 생각한다. 제작을 위해서는 내 글씨를 찍은 이미지가 필요한데, 나는 내가 사용하고 있는 오닉스 노트에어3C를 사용해서 세 페이지 정도 글씨를 썼고, 그걸 사진 찍어서 사이트에 올렸다. 나중에 생각해 보니, 숫자와 알파벳도 포함을 했어야 하는데, 오로지 한글만 적었던 것이 좀 아쉬웠다. 내 경우에, 일단 파일을 올리고 나면 바로 제작에 들어가서 그 사이에는 어떠한 상호 작용도 없었기 때문에 영어와 숫자를 추가로...

Oleg Trott, the developer of AutoDock Vina, one of the most popular molecular docking software, has expressed his skepticism about the comparison between AlphaFold3 and AutoDock Vina. Although I am not fully versed in the details of the AlphaFold3 paper, I can highlight some critical points from Oleg's post that are particularly releva...

Pharmaceutical giant Lilly recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to utilize generative AI for developing new antibiotics against drug-resistant bacteria. (Link: https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lilly-collaborates-openai-discover-novel-medicines-treat-drug) This collaboration underscores the growing r...

The advent of generative AI signifies a significant shift in the field of artificial intelligence, akin to how AlphaGo and AlphaFold revolutionized AI research. As highlighted in the ThinkCast podcast episode, “When Not to Use Generative AI” (https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/gartner-thinkcast/id1144653856?i=1000658557982), the str...

- I've seen people say that Apple’s WWDC 2024 lacked innovation and had nothing new in AI. These critics misunderstand what Apple excels at. Apple's true innovation lies in taking existing technology and seamlessly integrating it into their ecosystem, making it accessible and user-friendly for everyone, not just tech enthusiasts. - The...

On January 31, 2024, it was my last official day working at Standigm. The journey that started in June 2019 came to an end after four and a half years. It is natural for everything to have a beginning and an end, so it was inevitable that my time at Standigm would come to a close. However, it was certainly not something that could be e...

들어가는 말 시간이 가면 갈수록 더 좋은 도구들이 사용 가능해진다. 컴퓨터로 일을 하는 지금 시대에, 좋은 생산성 도구들이 끊임없이 쏟아져 나오면서 이런 새로운 도구를 배우는 데에도 꽤 많은 시간을 투자하게 되는 것이 사실이다. 에버노트가 처음 나왔을 때가 아마 2000년대 후반일텐데, 그 때는 이 프로그램이 최고의 혁신 중의 하나였지만, 지금은 모든 사람이 벗어나고 싶어하(는 것으로 보이)는 구시대의 도구처럼 치부되고 있다. 나는 지금 옵시디언프로그램을 사용하고 있는데, 이런 프로그램을 사용하다보면 '이전에 에버노트를 어떻게 그렇게 열심히 썼는지 모르겠다'는 생각이 들 정도이다. 이메일 이메일도...