II: Weekly TechBio News
Latest Trends on TechBio: 🔮 Absci Corp., 🔮 Evariste, 🔮 Phenome Health, 🔮 SandboxAQ, 🔮 Certis Oncology Solutions and 🔮 Orakl Oncology
II: Weekly TechBio News
Latest Trends on TechBio: 🔮 Absci Corp., 🔮 Evariste, 🔮 Phenome Health, 🔮 SandboxAQ, 🔮 Certis Oncology Solutions and 🔮 Orakl Oncology
“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
By William W. Purkey
II: Weekly TechBio News
🔮 Absci Corp.
On December 12, 2024, Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a generative AI drug creation company that combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies, announced updates and progress across its internal pipeline of proprietary programs, as well as new breakthroughs demonstrated by Absci’s AI integrated Drug Creation™ platform (Absci Highlights Progress and Updates Across Proprietary Pipeline and Leading AI Platform at 2024 R&D Day). In particular, they showcased the significant opportunities for ABS-201, they presented new data for ABS-101 and ABS-301, and they introduced ABS-501.
◾ ABS-201 is a potential best-in-class anti-PRLR (Anti-Prolactin Receptor) antibody for androgenic alopecia in preclinical development, that so far has demonstrated improved hair regrowth compared to minoxidil. Absci anticipates initiation of Phase 1 clinical trial in 1H 2026.
◾ ABS-101 is a potential best-in-class anti-TL1A (tumor necrosis factor–like cytokine 1A, TL1A) antibody that demonstrated high affinity and potency, ability to bind the monomer and trimer of TL1A, anticipated low immunogenicity, high bioavailability in non-human primates, and has the potential to be administered subcutaneously with an anticipated dosing interval of 8-12 weeks, or even less frequently.
Absci presented early preclinical data on ABS-101 in January 2024, with three advanced leads showing properties consistent with a potentially superior product profile, including demonstrated high affinity, high potency, favorable developability and extended half-life.
Anticipates initiation of Phase 1 clinical trial in 1H 2025.
◾ ABS-301 is a potential first-in-class antibody for an undisclosed immuno-oncology target, discovered through Absci’s AI Reverse Immunology target discovery platform. For this program, Absci has optimized an antibody lead with high affinity and potency, and anticipates selecting a drug candidate in 1H 2025.
◾ ABS-501 is a potential best-in-class novel AI-designed anti-HER2 antibody and the company anticipates selection of a drug candidate in 2025.
Moreover, Absci has achieved a breakthrough by de novo designing an antibody (by leveraging its proprietary de novo antibody design model AbsciDesign) that targets a previously difficult-to-drug epitope in the HIV “caldera” region (that has remained untargeted by previous broadly neutralizing antibodies). This breakthrough potentially aids the development of a universal HIV vaccine.
Few words now regarding Absci’s collaborations.
In April 2023, AbSci and M2GEN (now Aster Insights), an oncology-focused health informatics solutions company with the most advanced lifetime consented clinico-genomics data (clinical and molecular data set, ORIEN AVATAR), announced a partnership to create new cancer medicines. On December 06, 2023, AbSci announced a potential $247M partnership with AstaZeneca (LON: AZN) to focus on the discovery of novel cancer treatments with the help of Absci's Integrated Drug Creation platform, which combines scalable wet lab technologies with AI. On December 20, 2023, Absci and PrecisionLife announced a collaboration to develop a joint portfolio of potential therapeutics addressing unmet medical needs (PrecisionLife and Absci Announce Strategic R&D Partnership to Jointly Develop AI-Enabled Drug Pipeline).
During 2024, Absci and Memorial Sloan Kettering partnered to search for cancer drugs using AI to combine Absci's algorithms for novel antibodies with MSK's extensive oncology research, while its lead AI-designed candidate ABS-101 is anticipated to enter the clinic (Absci Eyes Busy 2025 as Lead AI-Designed Candidate Heads for Clinic).
On October 31, 2024, Absci and Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST) unveiled a collaboration to design a novel therapeutic using generative AI (Absci and Twist Bioscience Collaborate to Design Novel Antibody using Generative AI), against an undisclosed target using Absci’s advanced de novo design capabilities and Twist’s silicon-based DNA synthesis platform, including its Multiplexed Gene Fragments for the testing and validation of antibody candidates designed using Absci’s generative AI technology platform. Twist and Absci intend to seek a partner for human clinical development and commercialization.
Twist Bioscience founded in 2013 by Emily Leproust, Bill Banyai and Bill Peck, is developing a proprietary semiconductor-based synthetic DNA manufacturing process featuring a high-throughput silicon platform that allows miniaturization of the chemistry necessary for DNA synthesis. In 2021, Twist Bioscience incorporated the MOLCURE AI technology to augment therapeutic antibody discovery. MOLCURE's patented and validated AI platform is based on evolutionary molecular engineering, next-generation sequencing (NGS) and laboratory automation technologies. Moreover, Twist has an integrated offering of antibody discovery services, that combines Twist Biopharma’s synthetic libraries and AI/ML with an in vivo immunization approach gained through the acquisition of Abveris, also known as Twist Boston, an antibody discovery specialist offering end-to-end mAb discovery solutions to biotech and biopharma (Twist Bioscience Announced Robust Antibody Discovery Services Integrating In Vivo, In Vitro and In Silico Approaches).
Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Absci Co. (NASDAQ:ABSI - Free Report) by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter of 2024, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,187 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 155,007 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.33% of Absci worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.