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Waycen, a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) Medtech, announced on the 11th that it has signed a business agreement with Chung-Ang University Hospital to cooperate in medical joint research and academic research projects using AI technology.

Through this business agreement, the two companies plan to seek medical joint research and academic research cooperation using artificial intelligence technology and actively cooperate from joint research to commercialization to develop medical AI software that can contribute to high-quality medical services.


Waycen plans to develop artificial intelligence technologies for the development of medical AI software and healthcare, and to develop technologies in cooperation with Chung-Ang University Hospital's medical staff. Based on the expertise and infrastructure of both companies, they will work together to help the agreement contribute to the development of the medical AI industry.


Starting with this cooperation, Waycen is expected to expand its business portfolio by discovering new joint research topics. It is also expected to secure opportunities for demonstration such as AI-based real-time gastroscopy, colonoscopy video analysis software "WAYMED Endo", and respiratory self-health screening service "WAYMED Cough".


Kwon Jung-taek, head of Chung-Ang University Hospital, said, "Through this agreement, Chung-Ang University Hospital and Waycen will work together to create good services that would greatly help the medical field."


Waycen's best part is to commercialize the topic of joint research with medical staff, said Kim Kyung-nam, CEO of Waycen. "In fact, Waycen's items are producing results by winning the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) based on close joint research with medical staff." "We will do our best to make good results through cooperation with Chung-Ang University Hospital."


Waycen is the only Korean medical AI company to receive three innovation awards at CES 2024. It has won eight awards in a row.

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Waycen, an AI medical technology company, is selected as a "G-PASS" company and is actively targeting the overseas procurement market.

G-PASS (Government Performance Assured) is a system implemented by the Overseas Procurement Information Center of the Public Procurement Service. In order to strategically target the overseas government procurement market, promising companies are selected among SMEs with high potential to enter the overseas procurement market. It provides various support to companies with export competitiveness to target countries and overseas government procurement projects using the Public Procurement Service's overseas network to be competitive in the overseas procurement market.


The main product selected as a G-PASS company is artificial intelligence-based gastric and colonoscopy video analysis software "WAYMED Endo," which occupies a high share of the domestic artificial intelligence gastrointestinal endoscopy market. WAYMED Endo is highly favored by medical institutions because it conducts endoscopy and can quickly and accurately detect abnormal lesions in the examinee's stomach and colon with medical staff.


In July, WAYMED Endo was designated as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's 37th innovative medical device in recognition of its innovation in analyzing gastroscopy images in real time to detect the location of suspected gastric cancer areas and provide information on the probability of gastric cancer to medical staff. Industry relatives say that the designation of G-PASS will signal the expansion of overseas markets as the product has already been introduced to medical institutions in seven countries, including Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and the UAE, and is being used in clinical settings.


"WAYMED Endo is already aggressively pursuing operations in the domestic procurement market, and as a result, good results are being made in domestic procurement," said Kim Kyung-nam, CEO of Waycen. "Since the overseas procurement market is quite large and attractive, we will use G-PASS certification to create a new trend of K-medical AI in the market."


Meanwhile, Waycen was selected for the first innovative product pilot project of the Public Procurement Service for artificial intelligence gastroscopy and colonoscopy software in Korea and supplied WAYMED Endo to Ilsan Hospital, VHS Medical Center, and Gangneung Medical Center.

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Waycen and Korea Pharma announced on the 22nd that they have signed a strategic sales contract for WAYMED Endo, an AI-based gastric and colonoscopy image analysis solution.

This business agreement was made through mutual consultations between the two companies to strengthen their competitiveness in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy. The two companies expect that Korea Pharma, which has secured the exclusive right of "Plenvu" of Norgine, a global intestinal sanitizer development company, and Waycen, which leads the AI digestive endoscopy software market, will open a new game in the digestive endoscopy market.

WAYMED Endo is the first AI gastric and colonoscopy software to obtain approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea. At the same time as endoscopy, AI analyzes endoscopic images in real time to detect abnormal lesions in the stomach and colon. In particular, gastric software was designated as the 37th innovative medical device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in July in recognition of its innovation as a third-class medical device that provides medical staff with suspected gastric cancer and gastric cancer probability.

Starting with this business agreement, the two companies plan to promote the sales and marketing activities of WAYMED Endo to major general hospitals and medical institutions in Korea that operate gastroscopy and colonoscopy using the sales network and network owned by Korea Pharma. It is also said that they will further cooperate on various AI-based solutions, including digital treatment devices for panic disorder (DTx), which are being developed by Waycen.

Kim Kyung-nam, CEO of Waycen, said, "This business agreement with Korea Pharma, which has more than 40 years of know-how in operating medical institutions, is the beginning of creating new trends in the endoscopic market beyond discovering new business opportunities. We will work together to create a case of collaboration that can be recognized globally." Park Eun-hee, CEO of Korea Pharma, also said, "Through cooperation with Waycen, we will be able to provide clinically improved artificial intelligence solutions to patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal endoscopy in Korea, which is increasing every year. We will continue to contribute to public health by developing and introducing innovative medical technologies in various fields."


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<Anchor>               

Domestic AI medical devices are also entering the Southeast Asian medical industry.


In particular, the Vietnamese government has recently eased regulations on public bidding for medical devices, showing a stronger trend.


I'm reporter Kim Soo-jin for the coverage.


<Reporter>

Vietnam, a country that imports more than 90% of medical devices.


The average annual growth rate of the Vietnamese medical device market is as high as 10% due to the aging population and the increase of the middle class,


Due to the lack of production facilities, it is mainly imported from the United States and Japan.


In the past, Vietnam's public healthcare purchase process was based on bidding, and bidding grades were given by country, but Korea was the lowest grade, so it was not easy to target the market.


However, this year, the system was abolished, and last year, it was newly listed in countries where the rapid approval of medical devices was possible.


As these various regulations disappeared, K-innovative medical devices with excellent technology naturally attracted attention in the Vietnamese market.


The leading company is Waycen. Last year, it was selected as a pilot project (a pilot project for overseas expansion of ICT-based medical systems) organized by the Health Industry Promotion Agency, and started to actively target by installing AI endoscopes at St. Paul's General Hospital in Hanoi.


The AI endoscope analyzes gastric and colon endoscopy images in real time by artificial intelligence and immediately displays suspected gastric cancer or colon polyps that are difficult to detect.


The accuracy is around 95%.


Waycen, which also accompanied the Blue House Vietnamese economic mission this year, recently signed an agreement with the Phuong-dong General Hospital in Hanoi to activate AI digestive endoscopy.


An official from Phuong-dong Hospital said, "After the testimonial use of the product from the medical staff, we were able to accurately test many patients in real time," and added, "We plan to actively promote the introduction of AI digestive endoscopy."


[Kim Kyung-nam / CEO of Weissen] The reality is that the social atmosphere and the government atmosphere have changed due to the atmosphere that acknowledges the perception of K-medical in Vietnam. (Vietnam) has so many patients to solve per medical staff, and the medical staff is concentrated mainly in the city center, so the gap in medical services in Vietnam can be narrowed (using innovative medical devices)….]


Meanwhile, Waycen said it plans to expand the introduction of AI endoscopy services not only in Hanoi but also throughout Vietnam by 2026.


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Waycen (CEO Kim Kyung-nam), a company specializing in AI MEDTECH, announced on the 16th  that is has proved to be the next-generation global innovation company by winning three CES innovation awards ahead of the world's largest IT exhibition "CES 2024" in Las Vegas in January next year.


According to the results of the CES 2024 Innovation Award announced by The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) on the 16th, Waycen won three innovation awards for WAYMED Cough PRO and WAYMED Food Allergy. It won two awards in the artificial intelligence category and one in the software & mobile apps category, showing its leadership in the K-MEDTECH field yet again this year.


This result implies that Waycen has been recognized globally for its innovation in medical big data analysis technology. In addition, both of the winning products are artificial intelligence-based products developed through joint research with professional medical staff in each field. This is significant for the medical industry in that medical experts and AI specialized companies worked together to jointly develop clinically useful products with technical verification and achieve these excellent results.


WAYMED Cough Pro is an artificial intelligence self-screening app service that allows users to check their respiratory health with only three to five coughs. The service is the result of a joint study with a research team led by Professor Moon Kyung-min of the Department of Respiratory Allergy at Chung-Ang University Hospital and Director Jeon Jin-hee (former Yonsei B&A Clinic). 


Since it can analyze users' respiratory health based on artificial intelligence, help them easily manage respiratory health, and expand the input respiratory data to telemedicine services in connection with medical institutions, it has been honored with the innovation award for the second consecutive year following the CES 2023 Innovation Award.


WAYMED Food Allergy, which won two innovation awards this time, is an artificial intelligence-based customized food allergy oral immune digital treatment for children and adolescents with food allergies. The product is a digital treatment using Waycen's medical big data analysis technology and artificial intelligence algorithm, and is the result of joint research with Professor Ahn Kang-mo and Professor Kim Ji-hyun of the Department of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine at Samsung Medical Center. 


In recognition of its innovation in predicting allergic reactions with blood test information of pediatric patients and helping them safely and conveniently proceed with oral immunotherapy at home through interactive communication with digital technology through big data analysis, it won two awards in the artificial intelligence category and the software & mobile app category.


Based on its unique technology, Waycen has set an unusual record of winning CES Innovation Awards for three consecutive years, eight awards in total, in just four years since its establishment. While the last CES Innovation Award was recognized for its innovation and technology in real-time video analysis technology, this award can be seen as a global recognition for the technology and innovation of Waycen's new digital healthcare lineup.


Meanwhile, Waycen is exploring the global market with the world's first gastric and colonoscopy video analysis SW 'WAYMED Endo' released last year. This year CES Innovation Award-winning products are also expected to promote full-fledged business targeting the global market.


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<Anchor>

As interest in domestic medical devices grows day by day in the Middle East, our companies are riding the 'oil money' current.

As well as its excellent technology and price competitiveness, the government's recent trip to the Middle East also contributed to the positive cause.

<Reporter>

"A new window of opportunity for the people and businesses".

It is a phrase expressed by President Yoon Suk Yeol after his Middle East visit, saying that the government has opened an era of joint prosperity between the two countries.

In relation to this, the energy sector is attracting attention, but there are other areas that are making progress. It's a medical device.

Companies that use artificial intelligence (AI) to introduce innovative medical devices are also experiencing a "Middle East Boom."

In the case of Saudi Arabia, the government has put healthcare digital innovation as a task.

Lunit, the AI medical representative, has decided to participate in related government projects and supply AI solutions to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis and breast cancer to the world's largest virtual hospital.

The Saudi government invested about 86 trillion won (66 billion dollars) in building medical infrastructure related to virtual hospitals.

[Oh Jae-min / General Manager of Lunit Business Development: Artificial intelligence is also understood as an essential item for the ‘oil phase-out’ phase.…Currently, the MOU signing has been completed, and about 150 hospitals are connected to public medical institutions. They're doing performance tests there....]

CorelineSoft said it has signed a contract with the largest medical distributor in the Middle East to supply products such as lung cancer AI solutions and is discussing the introduction of the product separately from the Egyptian government.


[Jung Woo-suk / Coreline Soft CFO: It is expected to be adopted as an official solution for Egypt's national lung cancer screening project. There is a movement to compensate for the lack of (relatively) good medical personnel with the power of solutions.]

In addition, various domestic companies such as Waycen and Bertis are making progress in the Middle East.

The reason why Middle East welcomes K-medical devices like this.

An industry official explained, "We are recently beginning to be recognized for the excellence of Korean medical devices in the Middle East, and we possess excellent technology and price competitiveness compared to medical devices in the United States and Europe."

In fact, most Middle Eastern countries have a high economic level, but their healthcare capacity does not reach this level,

The K-medical device boom is expected to continue for the time being as medical devices that are integrated with high-tech are useful to fill medical capabilities, such as assisting complex inspections.


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Waycen (CEO Kim Kyung-nam) announced on the 10th that its artificial intelligence (AI)-based digestive endoscopy video analysis software "WAYMED Endo" has been selected as the World-class product of Korea 2023.

The World-class product is a system in which the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) select and certify globally competitive products among Korean products every year.

WAYMED Endo, developed by Waycen, was selected as the next-generation Word- class product in recognition of its business feasibility, which is leading technology in the global market and rapidly expanding its market share.

WAYMED Endo is an AI gastric and colonoscopy software that has obtained approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the first time in Korea. At the same time as the endoscopy, artificial intelligence analyzes endoscopic images in real time to detect abnormal lesions in the stomach and large intestine.

In particular, the stomach is the only third-class medical device in Korea that provides suspected gastric cancer sites and the probability of gastric cancer to medical staff, and was designated as the 37th Breakthrough Medical Device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in July in recognition of its technological innovation.

Currently, it is targeting the global market at a rapid pace by steadily increasing the reference of WAYMED Endo operating hospitals not only in Korea but also in various countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and the Middle East.

An official from Waycen said, "In Korea, we have secured Gangneung Asan Hospital and three public hospitals as references and are actively pursuing operations, and we are building a solid global business portfolio by operating pilot hospitals in five Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries."


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Waycen, an artificial intelligence (AI) MedTech company, announced on the 26th that CEO Kim Kyung-nam received the ‘2023 Minister Commendation of Corporate Research and Technology Promotion’ at the 2nd Technology Developers Day Ceremony held at LG Science Park on the 25th.

Technology Developers Day is an anniversary established by the Korea Industrial Technology Association to promote the dedication, efforts, and achievements through technological innovation of technology developers and to create a social atmosphere through preferential treatment of companies that contribute to the development of the Korean industry. At the event, Waycen CEO Kim Kyung-nam received a commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT for his contribution to winning four innovation awards at CES, the world's largest electronic and IT exhibition, pioneering domestic and foreign digital healthcare markets, and promoting K-medical technology innovation to the global market.

Waycen's real-time gastrointestinal endoscopy image analysis software "WAYMED Endo" has been designated as the 37th Breakthrough medical device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its successful commercialization in the domestic and global markets. In addition, research and development on real-time medical image analysis technology and medical big data analysis technology have been conducted, laying the foundation in the medical AI industry with high growth potential.

Kim Kyung-nam, CEO of Waycen, said, "As a technology developer for more than 30 years, we are constantly challenging the development of the IT industry. We will focus on technology management to lead the global medical AI market with Waycen's innovative technology in the medical AI industry."


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WAYMED Endo is a medical AI software that helps high-quality endoscopy by detecting abnormal lesions in real time. CEO Kim Kyung-nam explains that Waycen is the only company in the world that has a lineup of AI endoscopic video analysis in both stomach and large intestine.

CEO Kim said, "It is necessary to find early gastric cancer (EGC), but the characteristics of this lesion are difficult to pattern due to various stages," adding, "It is difficult to distinguish inflammatory gastritis, gastric submucosal tumor (SMT), and early gastric cancer if only held in prognostic management." In particular, it is difficult to detect early gastric cancer in various locations, such as shaded areas in small spaces, so entry barriers are high, he added.

In fact, both Medtronic ('GI Genius') of the United States and Olympus ('Endobrain-I') of Japan, which can be seen as competitors, have only AI colonoscopy imaging devices.


"It was most difficult to help medical staff by analyzing real-time medical images rather than still images," he said. "We used big data on gastroscopy medical images through video learning models, and it was also difficult to build a network with medical staff because we had to collect videos from the time of examination." "We were able to achieve successful results in the business thanks to close cooperation and joint research with hospitals." In fact, Waycen's products were all developed through joint research with hospitals.

Yet only "WAYMED Endo STCS," an AI gastroscopy video analysis device, is designated as a Breakthrough medical device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. CEO Kim said, "We will also apply for AI colonoscopy video analysis devices as a Breakthrough medical device next year."

In the domestic colonoscopy equipment market, Olympus's "Evis Lucera Elite" and "Execera III" account for about 70%. For this reason, Waycen has increased compatibility so that WAYMED Endo can be used regardless of the brand of endoscopic equipment. This is different from Endobrain-Ai, which can only be installed on endoscopy devices in Olympus. In addition, the fact that both gastroscopy system and colonoscopy system can be used in a single purchase due to the same program, is expected to be a barrier to competitors entering the market in the future.

 The global endoscopic equipment market targeted by WAYMED Endo amounts to about 25 trillion won. Among them, it is actively pushing to enter Southeast Asia and the Middle East, which is growing rapidly. CEO Kim said, "There are many cases of receiving gastric and colonoscopy at once for sleeping anesthesia, but if the programs are different, it will be cumbersome," adding, "WAYMED Endo can conduct gastric and colonoscopy at the same time, which is convenient for both medical staff and examiners."

In Korea, many people do endoscopy, which is not done more than once a year, while in Vietnam it is done more than three times a year. This trend is spreading to neighboring countries, he said. In fact, Waycen installed WAYMED Endo at St. Paul's General Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam last year, but less than a year after it was installed, the number of tests exceeded 5,000. In recognition of this contribution, Waycen accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol's economic delegation to Vietnam in June. Waycen also drew attention at an economic dinner held on the first day of Vietnam state visit, sitting at a head table where President Yoon was sitting.

CEO Kim said, "I think it is important as a Medtech company to make a solid reference in this field," and stressed, "We will make WAYMED Endo a cash cow without forcibly turning to other businesses to make sales." Waycen's estimated sales this year are 1.2 billion won to 1.5 billion won, and its target sales for next year are 3 billion won.

 Waycen won the Innovation Award for the first time as a medical AI company at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 held in Las Vegas in January. Waycen won two awards in the digital healthcare category and two in the software and mobile apps category, respectively, for △ WAYMED Cough △ WAYMED Endo Pro △ WAYMED EBUS. Kim received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award at the KIMES 2023 held in March in recognition of his contribution to promoting the excellence of Korea's medical AI to the global market.


Source: https://pharm.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=02299286635705352

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"We will become a MedTech company that encompasses prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management with 'Waymed Endo', an artificial intelligence (AI) endoscopic video analysis service, and 'Waymed Panic', a digital treatment for panic disorders."

CEO Kim Kyung-nam, who met at Waycen's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 26th of last month, said this, citing "Johnson & Johnson Meditech" when asked if there were any companies benchmarking.


Waycen claims to be an 'AI Medtech company'. Medtech stands for Medical Technology (Medical Technology) and refers to an industry that designs and manufactures medical devices for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. Johnson & Johnson Medical also changed its name to Johnson & Jones Medtech last year, expressing its ambition to more actively incorporate digital technology into the medical industry. This means that it will lead innovation in the future medical market combined with digital, including robotic surgery devices and medical software.

CEO Kim said, "Johnson & Johnson is the only company that combines medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and bio," and explained, "We are taking it as a good reference because they are leading a huge investment in Medtech technology."

CEO Kim is an AI expert who graduated from KAIST's Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering and received a master's degree in electronic engineering and computer vision at Pohang University of Technology (POSTECH). He started his career at Samsung Electronics, served as vice president of Polaris Office (041020), served as CEO of Selvas AI (108860) from 2015 to 2019, and founded Waycen, an AI medical company, after leaving Selvas AI. Selvas AI, a company specializing in AI, is an AI convergence product company that develops and provides digital textbooks and voice synthesis solutions, and is also engaged in medical device-related business through its subsidiary company Selvas Healthcare.

CEO Kim said, "I decided to start a business after discovering the growth potential of the medical industry at an AI-specialized company and with the intention of creating a life where everyone can live healthier and longer with AI technology."

The name of Waycen also contains a vision for such a project. Waycen is a combination of 'WAY' and 'CENTER'. CEO Kim said, "It means that we will find proper prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the medical AI field based on quality management and provide a way to the medical industry," adding, "I think it will definitely help the medical environment."

CEO Kim, who considered various medical-related business items that can incorporate AI in the early stages of the business, said he judged that AI-based video diagnosis solutions are the most suitable considering marketability and current technology levels.

CEO Kim said, "Korea has long accumulated medical data on the resident registration number system based on the entire population, and the government leads the health insurance business, while Japan has a workplace insurance system, making it difficult to continue accumulating data. Singapore (6 million people) and Taiwan (24 million people) also run health insurance businesses but they have a much smaller population than Korea” he said. "AI-based video solutions can be predicted and diagnosed through big data by accumulating related data in time series."

Waycen has a total of 37 executives and employees, of which 52% are developers. The number of master's and doctorate degrees is 35 percent of all executives and employees, with the largest number of computer science majors.

 Shares of Waycen, a privately held company, are currently not traded over-the-counter yet. Currently, the largest shareholder is CEO Kim.

Source: https://pharm.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=02292726635705352

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5th floor, 524 Samseong-ro (Saehwa Building), 
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
TEL  +82-2-568-0863    l    FAX  +82-2-568-0862 
contact@waycen.com  marketing@waycen.com 
ⓒ Waycen Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED