SK Biopharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical arm of SK Group, announced Tuesday it has established a joint venture, Mentis Care, with the leading Latin American pharmaceutical company Europharma.
The venture is dedicated to the global commercialization of an AI-based epilepsy management platform. Its official launch ceremony was held in Toronto, Canada, on Monday.
The formation of Mentis Care signals SK's full-fledged entry into the AI digital health care market, capitalizing on technological capabilities developed since 2018. Since then, SK Biopharma has been researching patient seizure prediction and real-time monitoring technology based on its proprietary brainwave analysis AI and wearable devices.
Mentis Care will leverage this core SK Biopharma technology to develop a patient-specific warning system and a clinical decision support platform focused on real-time seizure prediction, complementing Europharma's established business strategy.
As part of its strategy to enter the North American market, the company has set up its base in the MaRS Discovery District, North America's largest innovation hub for life sciences research personnel. Mentis Care aims to advance its seizure prediction algorithms by expanding organizations centered on local personnel and strengthening industry-academia networks.
Hassan Kotob, appointed as the first CEO of Mentis Care, is an industry expert with more than 30 years of experience in AI and data-based medical solutions, having previously served as CEO of the AI-based neural monitoring company Brain Scientific.
"Mentis Care aims to support epilepsy patients to lead safer and freer lives through AI technology," said Hassan Kotob, CEO of Mentis Care. "By combining SK Biopharmaceuticals and Europharma's innovation capabilities, we will create a new standard for epilepsy management based on AI prediction technology."
Lee Dong-hoon, president of SK Biopharmaceuticals, said, "SK Biopharmaceuticals is opening up new possibilities for patient treatment through AI-based digital health care, going beyond innovative new drugs. We will promote patient-centered treatment innovation incorporating AI technology through Mentis Care."
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