Kakao Healthcare and the Korean unit of global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi announced Monday that they signed a memorandum of understanding on June 3 to collaborate on medical data-based Real-World Evidence (RWE) research and develop artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
The MOU was signed at the "Korea-France Economic Future Dialogue," held during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Korea on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France. The partnership is seen as a meaningful example of combining Korea's digital healthcare infrastructure and technology with France's pharmaceutical and AI expertise, presenting new possibilities for healthcare cooperation between the two countries.
Specifically, the two companies will jointly conduct RWE research based on medical data. They also plan to jointly develop and advance AI models based on federated learning. The goal is to improve patient health outcomes and contribute to the advancement of medical research.
To this end, Kakao Healthcare will provide a platform and technology capable of conducting research based on real-world clinical data. Sanofi will contribute its AI and digital healthcare capabilities along with medical and scientific expertise.
Building on the data-driven research capabilities and AI technology established through this partnership, the two companies will also explore potential applications in areas such as early disease detection and personalized patient management across various diseases. In particular, they plan to collaborate on AI-based analysis for early diagnosis in the area of Fabry disease and on developing models for personalized management and treatment optimization in the area of asthma.
Bae Kyung-eun, country lead of Sanofi Korea (multi-country lead for Korea and Australia/New Zealand Pharma), said, "RWE is a core element of patient-centered medicine. This partnership will serve as a meaningful starting point to advance clinical evidence research by combining Sanofi's AI and digital healthcare capabilities with Kakao Healthcare's RWE platform technology, and further expand into AI solution development. We hope this collaboration will further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two companies in the digital healthcare field."
Hwang Hee, CEO of Kakao Healthcare, said, "This partnership is highly meaningful in that it has laid the foundation for implementing RWE research in actual clinical settings based on medical data. Together with Sanofi, we will combine data analysis and research capabilities to build research models applicable in real clinical settings and continuously expand the value of RWE-based research."