South Korea has passed a law enabling employment of artificial intelligence to research and develop new drugs.

The National Assembly on Monday passed a revised bill to foster and assist the pharmaceutical sector, outlining investment plans for companies developing new drugs using AI technologies.

The move is expected to accelerate growth in cutting-edge pharmaceutical research, including medical software such as picture archiving communication system and mobile medical apps.

Drug development is an extremely time-consuming, complex and costly process. To speed up discovery and reduce the costs of development, global pharmaceutical firms have embraced AI technologies, such as machine learning and deep learning, in the process of identifying new materials, designing clinical tests and predicting results. While local companies have also been eager to leverage the powers of AI, they have been blocked by stiff regulations and lack of funding.

By Kim Hyo-sung and Kim Hyo-jin

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