The Albany Gazette - WELT Unveils the World's First "AI-Combo Drug" at CES 2026

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESS Newswire / January 7, 2026 / WELT, the Samsung spin-off digital‑pharmaceutical company behind the KFDA‑approved and CE‑certified insomnia Digital Therapeutics 'SleepQ', announced today that it has been named a CES 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree for its groundbreaking AI agent, 'AgentZ'. AgentZ transforms everyday generic sleep medications into personalized, AI‑enhanced precision therapies-without altering the chemical formulation of the pill.

By scanning a QR code placed on medication packaging, AgentZ activates SleepQ's medical‑grade AI engine, which analyzes multi‑modal patient data including sleep logs, wearable biometrics, daily activity, lifestyle factors, and circadian rhythm patterns. The system then determines the optimal timing for medication intake, maximizing drug effectiveness while reducing next‑day hangover, tolerance, dependency, and adverse events.

This marks the first technology capable of elevating low‑cost generics into an AI‑enhanced "improved drug," providing pharmaceutical companies with a fast, regulatory-aligned pathway for digital differentiation and life‑cycle management.

A NEW CLASS OF AI‑AUGMENTED MEDICINE

WELT introduces a new treatment paradigm that unites drug + timing + patient‑specific real‑world data into a continuously adaptive therapeutic loop. The AI learns from each individual's patterns and response history, adjusting recommendations over time to maintain optimal effect.

"This is AI-upgraded pharmacotherapy, not digital companioning," says Dr. Sean Kang, CEO of WELT. "When you combine a generic pill with real‑time patient data and predictive AI, you get a safer, more precise, more effective version of the drug-at a fraction of traditional development cost. This is where pills truly meet AI."

Built within a certified Digital Therapeutics, SleepQ's predictive engine analyzes real-world behavior patterns to anticipate insomnia episodes hours before onset. Based on this forecast, AgentZ guides the patient to take medication only when necessary and only when their body is primed to respond. This enables a dramatically safer and more efficient use of hypnotic medications.

HOW AI-COMBO SLEEPING PILL WORKS

1. Pharmaceutical companies add a QR code to existing medication packaging-no chemistry, manufacturing, or formulation changes required.

2. Patients scan the QR code.

3. SleepQ retrieves prescription information and integrates real‑world behavioral and biometric data.

4. The predictive engine forecasts insomnia risk in advance.

5. AgentZ delivers optimal timing recommendations tailored to the patient.

6. The system monitors ongoing responses and adapts dynamically.

"The pill stays the same. Everything around it evolves."

THE NEXT FRONTIER OF DRUG VALUE CREATION

WELT's AI-Combo platform directly addresses strategic challenges faced by pharmaceutical companies:

• Restoring value to generics under pricing pressure

AI‑guided timing elevates generics to premium, differentiated therapeutic products.

• Digital life‑cycle management (LCM)

AI-Combo provides a rapid, regulatory‑aligned avenue for digital enhancement-deployable in months, not years.

• Built-in Real‑World Evidence (RWE)

SleepQ includes an in‑app clinical trial engine that generates scalable RWE for label expansions, digital claims, and algorithm updates.

BEYOND SLEEP: A PLATFORM FOR ANY PRN (as-needed) DRUG

Beyond insomnia, the AI-Combo framework can be applied across multiple high-value therapeutic areas where timing and real-world behavior shape clinical outcomes, including:

• anxiety and panic treatments

• migraine and pain management

• metabolic and weight-management therapies

• women's health (PMS, dysmenorrhea, menopausal symptoms)

• asthma and COPD rescue inhalers

• allergy and GI symptom-relief treatments

• smoking-cessation and craving-management medications

"AI-Combo Drugs will become the global standard for medication use," Dr. Kang said. "We envision a world where every pill is taken at the exact moment it works best-not through chemistry, but through AI. That is the future of medicine."

ABOUT WELT

WELT is a Samsung Electronics spin‑off and a global digital‑pharmaceutical company specializing in AI‑powered digital therapeutics (DTx). Operating across Korea, US and Germany, WELT develops clinically validated digital treatments and partners with healthcare systems and pharmaceutical companies worldwide to bring precision medicine into daily life.

For partnership inquiries, clinical collaborations, or QR‑enabled LCM programs:

[email protected]

SOURCE: WELTCORP

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

(J.Torres--TAG)