Bertis Earns Judges’ Selection at the MSD Health Innovation Summit,Debuts AI-Based Drug Target Discovery Platform ‘SURF’- Only company in the drug development sector selected by the judging panel as one of the three winners at the summit- Debuts an AI-based target discovery platform built on the surfaceome, one of the fastest-moving areas in the global biopharma market- Pairs proprietary experimental data with AI analysis in an evidence-based discovery model that judges flagged as ready for global pharma collaborationBertis,a proteomics technology platform company (co-CEOs Dong-young Noh and Seungman Han), announced that it earned a judging panel selection at the MSD Health Innovation Summit, co-hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) and MSD Korea. Bertis used the stage to introduce SURF, its AI-based platform for therapeutic target discovery and validation.Eight companies cleared pre-screening and pitched at the summit. Bertis claimed one of three judges’ selections and stood alone as the only target discovery platform company on the list. Judges credited the proteomics capabilities Bertis has built and validated through its cancer detection solutions and protein analysis services, and singled out a platform that lifts both the efficiency and the probability of success in drug development.Held on July 14, this year’s summit ran under the theme “Next-Generation Healthcare Powered by Evidence-Based AI: From Prevention to Personalized Care.” The judging panel assembled experts from KHIDI and MSD Korea, along with the Global Health Innovation Fund (GHIF), MSD’s venture capital arm; IDEA Studio, MSD’s innovation team for the Asia Pacific region; and HITLAB, a Columbia University-based global healthcare innovation platform that advises on digital health solutions.SURF generates and analyzes cancer cell surface and proximity protein data to uncover novel therapeutic target candidates, then converts them through AI analysis and experimental validation into partner-ready target packages for co-development or licensing. Instead of drawing from known candidate lists, the platform hunts for novel targets and maps surface and proximity proteins to weigh each candidate on surface accessibility, disease relevance, normal tissue expression risk, and modality fit, then ranks the results into a prioritized shortlist. That output feeds directly into modalities such as ADCs, bispecific antibodies and more. SURF pairs hands-on experimental data generation with AI analysis and validation studies, complementing in silico-driven approaches and grading developability at every step.Global pharmaceutical companies have moved aggressively into target discovery aimed at the cell surface proteome, or surfaceome. In January, DISCO Pharmaceuticals licensed a novel surface protein target to Amgen, and InduPro signed a multispecific antibody oncology co-development deal with Eli Lilly, worth up to $618 million and $950 million respectively. Both deals establish surface proteins and protein proximity data as a critical starting point for next-generation therapeutics including ADCs and bispecific antibodies. Bertis now combines its proprietary AI analysis engine with proteomics data generation and clinical specimen-based validation, covering the full path from surface target discovery to target packaging ready for co-research and licensing talks.“Global pharmaceutical companies and investment and research experts filled the room, and they recognized the innovation behind our proteomics-based target discovery platform,” said Seung-man Han, CEO of Bertis. “We confirmed how strongly the field needs surfaceome-driven target discovery. We will build on SURF to expand joint research and licensing partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies.”