IlDong Pharmaceutical is promoting the development of “digital convergence pharmaceuticals” designed to enhance patients’ medication adherence and treatment outcomes.

IlDong Pharmaceutical announced on the 11th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with digital healthcare company WELT for the joint development and commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI)-based digital convergence pharmaceuticals.

Digital convergence pharmaceuticals refer to medicines that maximize therapeutic effects by combining pharmaceuticals with advanced digital technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile apps, or with digital medical devices. The concept is drawing attention as a next-generation treatment model following first-generation chemical drugs and second-generation biopharmaceuticals.

The agreement was reportedly pursued to develop digital convergence pharmaceuticals by combining IlDong Pharmaceutical’s portfolio of drugs and health functional foods with WELT’s AI agent platform “DrugOS,” and to commercialize them in domestic and overseas markets. DrugOS is a digital platform that supports medication timing management, adverse reaction monitoring, adherence management, and prediction of treatment discontinuation risk by integrating AI agents with pharmaceuticals. It operates based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) digital guidelines for prescription drug use (PDURS) and the Korean Digital Medical Products Act framework. It is characterized by enabling continuous interaction with patients and managing the entire treatment process.

IlDong Pharmaceutical and WELT stated that they promoted cooperation to proactively respond to the enforcement of the Digital Medical Products Act (2025) and the digital convergence pharmaceuticals guidelines scheduled for introduction in the second half of this year. Their policy is to accumulate real-world evidence (RWE) and verify the effectiveness of improving medication adherence and treatment outcomes in order to secure competitiveness in the digital convergence pharmaceuticals market.

Under the agreement, the two companies will first apply DrugOS to IlDong Pharmaceutical’s over-the-counter drugs and health functional foods, including the Aronamin series. This is intended for market validation and data accumulation. In addition, they will use QR codes and package-linked methods to enhance consumer accessibility, and plan to utilize the accumulated RWE data in the future for the development of prescription drugs and new drugs (including incrementally modified drugs. They will also pursue joint development to upgrade the existing pharmaceutical portfolio into an AI-based digital convergence pharmaceuticals portfolio by gradually applying DrugOS to major product groups. IlDong Pharmaceutical will be responsible for responding to commercialization-related regulations, while WELT will operate the DrugOS platform and conduct data analysis to support the development of digital convergence pharmaceuticals.

They also plan to pursue joint out-licensing with global pharmaceutical companies in the future, based on the RWE and clinical evidence accumulated in the domestic market. With global demand growing for new treatment models that combine digital technology and pharmaceuticals, their strategy is to seek opportunities for overseas market expansion using successful cases established in Korea as a foundation.

Yoon Woong-seop, CEO of IlDong Pharmaceutical, said, “The convergence of pharmaceuticals and digital technology will go beyond simple medication reminder services to become a new healthcare paradigm that improves patients’ treatment experience and outcomes,” adding, “Through cooperation with WELT, we will provide differentiated value to users and take the lead in the digital convergence pharmaceuticals market.”

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