A national compound library holds 780,000 molecules, many found nowhere else.

Finding new medicines requires testing vast collections of chemicals, but researchers often lack access to diverse compounds. To fix this, South Korea established the Korea Chemical Bank, or KCB, in 2000. It acts as a massive public library that collects, creates, and checks the quality of chemical molecules. Scientists can browse this storehouse using a web portal launched in 2020. They can request specific molecules or custom sets to test in their labs. Today, KCB holds over >780 000 compounds. It features 103 677 unique molecular core shapes that do not appear in other major international libraries. This resource works: one compound found by screening its collection has already reached global Phase 2 clinical trialsPhase 2 clinical trialsA stage of testing a drug in a larger group of patients to see if it works and is safe. with a local pharmaceutical partner. KCB now also supports artificial intelligence drug discovery using its huge bioactivity datasets.

Why it matters

Drug discovery needs diverse chemical starting points. Korea's public library gives researchers access to over 780,000 compounds, including many unique structures not in global databases. One hit from this library has already reached Phase 2 clinical trials, showing how shared infrastructure can speed up real medicines.

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