II: Bayer and AI Drug Discovery 🪢
Revolutionizing Drug Development
For the first part of today’s newsletter:
"Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind."
By Jeffrey Eugenides (Middlesex)
Bayer News
⛓️💥 Bayer slashed 1,500 roles last quarter as CEO's vision for simpler organization takes shape
⛓️💥 Headache for Bayer as results show fall in Q1 sales and earnings
⛓️💥 Bayer reports drop in Q1 sales amidst patent litigation challenges
⛓️💥 Bayer vows to become a top oncology drugmaker
⛓️💥 Bayer’s non-hormonal therapy reduces hot flashes in Phase III trials
⛓️💥 BenevolentAI taps former Bayer R&D chief to help steer the AI biotech out of choppy waters
Bayer AG (ETR: BAYN) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include: pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products, agricultural chemicals, seeds and biotechnology products.
The company was founded in 1863 as a partnership between dye salesman Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880) and dyer Friedrich Weskott (1821–1876). In 1899, Bayer launched the compound acetylsalicylic acid under the trademarked name Aspirin (in 2021, it was the 34th most commonly prescribed medication in the US, with more than 17 million prescriptions). In 1925, Bayer merged with five other German companies to form IG Farben. In 1951, IG Farben was split into its constituent companies and Bayer was reincorporated as Farbenfabriken Bayer AG. In 2016, Bayer merged with the American multinational Monsanto. However, owing to the massive financial and reputational damage caused by ongoing litigation concerning Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, the deal is considered one of the worst corporate mergers in history.
⏺ Buyer launched in 2019 a LifeHub in the UK focused on Artificial Intelligence to optimize data-driven drug discovery and disease diagnosis, to boost collaborations with external partners and to drive development of AI-enabled radiology (imaging). In fact, in 2019 Bayer and Sensyne Health—a clinical AI startup with MagnifEye an AI-powered software product that transforms any smartphone into an easy-to-use Lateral Flow Test reader—expanded their previous AI collaboration into a larger, international project based in the UK and focused on developing new cardiovascular disease treatments using AI-enabled radiology and imaging, with Bayer’s LifeHub UK playing a role.
In 2022, Sensyne ran out of cash.
Huma Therapeutics is the new home of GDm-Health (a health application designed for people with gestational diabetes to allow for remote monitoring of blood glucose levels and communication with healthcare professionals) and DBm-Health (an app intended for patients with or at risk of diabetes) after their acquisition from Sensyne Health. Huma is a global health technology company that provides a modular platform to support digital 'hospitals at home' across different disease areas.
In 2023, Bayer Partnered with Huma on Bayer® Aspirin Heart Risk Assessment Online Educational Tool to Raise Awareness of Heart Health and its Risk Factors. The Bayer Aspirin Heart Risk Assessment, is an online tool that quickly assesses an individual's risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) over the next 10 years and Huma developed the algorithm using data from the UK's Biobank.