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Insilico Medicine announces milestone in AI-driven drug development
Insilico Medicine, a prominent biotech startup based in Hong Kong and New York, has revealed a significant breakthrough in the realm of AI-integrated drug discovery. Having raised over $400 million to propel their innovative approach of fusing biology, chemistry, and clinical trial analysis through cutting-edge AI systems, the company has unveiled a groundbreaking paper highlighting the emergence of what it asserts is the first-ever AI-generated and AI-discovered drug. This pioneering drug has made substantial progress and has now entered Phase II clinical trials.
The paper, published in Nature Biotechnology, illustrates the comprehensive journey of INS018_055, a drug candidate identified using Insilico’s AI platform to combat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an aggressive lung disease. It outlines the raw experimental data along with the preclinical and clinical assessments of the potentially revolutionary TNIK inhibitor, entirely conceived and optimized through generative AI.
Setting a precedent for AI in drug discovery
Insilico’s Founder and CEO, Alex Zhavoronkov, asserts that this drug marks a pivotal achievement where the target identification and prioritization stemmed from biological AI, while the molecule itself was generated through generative chemistry AI. Leveraging their comprehensive platform, Pharma.AI, equipped with specialized AI models trained on extensive datasets, Insilico has pioneered a multidimensional approach. PandaOmics, a pivotal tool within their arsenal, expeditiously pinpoints and ranks disease-relevant targets, while the Chemistry42 engine utilizes deep learning techniques to swiftly craft novel drug compounds tailored to combat the identified protein targets.
Zhavoronkov expressed, “The advancement of INS018_055 stands as a testament to Pharma.AI, our end-to-end AI-empowered drug discovery platform, and underscores the potential of generative AI to expedite the drug development process.”
Insilico’s accelerated journey to clinical trials
Discussing the conventional route of drug development characterized by prolonged timelines, substantial costs, and high failure rates, Zhavoronkov elucidated how traditional methods would typically necessitate over $400 million and up to six years. However, embracing generative AI enabled Insilico to reach Phase I clinical trials in a mere two and a half years, a remarkable feat achieved at a fraction of the conventional cost and time frame.
Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, an investor in Insilico, hailed this milestone as a breakthrough in efficiently creating medicines from scratch by harnessing generative AI in chemistry and biology.
Reflecting on this monumental achievement in AI-driven drug discovery, Zhavoronkov, amidst a decade of dedication since Insilico’s inception in 2014, expressed his delight: “I’ll go and watch Dune with a big bag of popcorn,” marking a rare moment of celebration for the team behind this transformative success.
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