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MetaphysicalCells: A newsletter about Science, Technology and AI Drug Discovery
Welcome back to another free edition of MetaphysicalCells 🪐🛸
“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.”
Max Planck, Where Is Science Going?
The recent surge in AI-driven advancements across the biopharmaceutical and drug discovery sectors underscores a transformative shift in how science and technology intersect to solve some of humanity’s most pressing health challenges. Below is an overview of the key developments over the last ten days:
🧬 Democratization of AI-Powered Drug Discovery
➡️ ReSync Bio and NVIDIA’s BioNeMo: ReSync Bio's integration with NVIDIA's BioNeMo platform highlights the democratization of AI tools for drug discovery. NVIDIA's scalable infrastructure enables smaller companies and researchers to access cutting-edge AI models, reducing barriers to entry in the field (ReSync Bio to Democratize AI-Powered Drug Discovery with NVIDIA BioNeMo). ReSync Bio coordinates labs, data and AI models on one platform for integrated preclinical R&D.
➡️ Sapio Sciences: By leveraging NVIDIA’s BioNeMo, Sapio Sciences is making AI-native drug discovery seamless, allowing researchers to focus on innovation rather than computational complexities (Sapio Sciences makes AI-Native drug discovery seamless with NVIDIA BioNeMo). Sapio Sciences delivers the leading AI-powered lab informatics platforms, uniting LIMS, ELN and SDMS on a shared foundation with purpose-built solutions for scientific research, discovery, manufacturing and clinical diagnostics, such as: Sapio LIMS®, a no-code, fully configurable LIMS that automates workflows from start to finish; Sapio ELN®, that adapts to all your research needs, no matter how complex; and Sapio Jarvis®, a scientific data cloud that integrates and unifies research data across your entire enterprise.
➡️ Cadence and NVIDIA (Grace Blackwell) announced the expansion of their multi-year collaboration: The collaboration between Cadence (Nasdaq: CDNS) and NVIDIA leverages advanced hardware (e.g., NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GPUs) to accelerate AI-driven engineering and scientific research. This partnership underscores the importance of computational power in handling the immense data requirements of AI applications (Cadence Accelerates AI-Driven Engineering Design and Science with NVIDIA Grace Blackwell). Cadence Molecular Sciences (OpenEye)—is a business unit of Cadence | Computational Software for Intelligent System Design, a pivotal leader in electronic systems design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise.
🎩 Google's Leadership in AI Tools
📣 TxGemma: Google's new AI tool, TxGemma, represents a significant leap in drug discovery capabilities, and with its ability to model complex biological interactions positions as a potential game-changer in identifying novel drug candidates (Google launches TxGemma, a new AI tool for drug discovery). Derived from Google's Gemma (Introducing Gemma 3: The most capable model you can run on a single GPU or TPU), the TxGemma AI models can understand both written text and the structures of compounds like small molecules, chemicals, and proteins.
📣 Google’s co-scientist Solves Superbug Mystery: AI's ability to crack a decade-long superbug mystery in just 48 hours underscores its potential to address antibiotic resistance, a critical global health threat (Google’s AI Solved An Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Mystery That Took Scientists A Decade To Decode).
🎳 Strategic Collaborations and Partnerships
🧩 Valo Health and nference: Their partnership aims to accelerate human-centric drug discovery by combining Valo's AI-driven platforms with nference's data analytics capabilities (Valo Health and nference Announce Long-term Partnership to Accelerate Human-Centric Drug Discovery and Development). Valo founded by Flagship Pioneering has a revolutionary, integrated drug discovery and development platform, the Opal platform, a unique “closed-loop” active learning, self-reinforcing, in silico and in lab-experimental platform that rapidly iterates to design drugs, and can go from zero to a molecule in hand in as little as 3 weeks, by screening trillions of molecules computationally in just weeks. Nference partners with medical centers to turn decades of rich and predominantly unstructured data captured in electronic medical records, into powerful software solutions that enable scientists to discover and develop the next-generation of personalized diagnostics and treatments.
🧩 Fortress Biotech and Partex NV: This collaboration leverages AI to streamline biopharmaceutical drug discovery, emphasizing the importance of cross-industry partnerships in advancing AI technologies (Fortress Biotech partners with Partex for AI-driven drug discovery). Fortress Biotech, Inc. (FBIO) is an innovative biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, and commercializes innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. Partex supports large biopharma companies in AI-Driven Indication Expansion. Partex is the first digital pharma platform that is set to be the largest AI-powered Drug Assets Manager.
🧩 AIRA Matrix Partners with Gestalt to Elevate Diagnostics with AI-Driven QC Platform: The partnership between AIRA Matrix and Gestalt aims to enhance diagnostic quality control (QC) using AI, and ensure that diagnostic tests are accurate, consistent, and reliable (Innovative Partnership: AIRA Matrix Partners with Gestalt to Elevate Diagnostics with AI-Driven QC Platform). Gestalt Diagnostics transforms pathology through an intelligent, configurable, and vendor-neutral, AI-driven, digital workflow that provides true interoperability enabling pathologists to diagnose diseases faster and more efficiently. The PathFlow® solution is a cloud-based digital pathology enterprise platform that can easily be customized based on each specific preference. AIRA Matrix | Artificial Intelligence - Transformed Analysis is a software company that provides image analysis and management solutions for preclinical toxicology and pathology applications.
🧩 Intrinseque Health and Good AI Partner to Deliver AI-Powered Clinical Supply Chain Solutions for Life Sciences: The partnership between Intrinseque Health and Good AI focuses on optimizing clinical supply chains using AI (Intrinseque Health and Good AI Partner to Deliver AI-Powered Clinical Supply Chain Solutions for Life Sciences). Intrinseque Health provides Project Management-based, global clinical supply chain solutions to its clients. Good AI is an AI-driven innovator in clinical trial optimization and supply chain automation.
🧩 First Logica-identified candidate marks a progression-based milestone in ongoing partnership: Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE: CRL) and Valo Health announced the identification of a product candidate for the treatment of different forms of lupus and other autoimmune indications with significant unmet need. The discovery is the first using Logica, an AI-powered drug development solution that translates biological insights into optimized preclinical assets (Charles River and Valo Health Identify a Potential Therapeutic for Lupus Using Logica). Valo (Valo Health LLC) founded by Flagship Pioneering has a revolutionary, integrated drug discovery and development platform, the Opal platform, a fully unified, end-to-end integrated platform with applications across the entire drug discovery and development process. Valo also developed proprietary models for IND-enabling studies to drive translation success. Moreover, Valo and its strategic partner Charles River Laboratories launched Logica, a customized drug discovery solution from target discovery to preclinical development that is transforming drug discovery. The platform provides an integrated AI-driven closed loop process that aligns outputs to customer needs.
🧩 The Korean biotech inked a deal with San Francisco-based Pragma Biosciences to co-develop drug candidates sourced from gut microbiota: Syntekabio has signed a $3.1M deal with Pragma Biosciences to co-develop AI optimized oral therapies for immune diseases. The work will run through DeepMatcher, Syntekabio’s cloud-based AI platform designed to optimize and expand small molecule libraries, and Pragma will mine microbiome-based therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases (Syntekabio bets $3.1 mil. on US biotech to turn gut bugs into AI-driven immune meds). Syntekabio is a global partner for AI drug discovery and repurposing drugs, using DeepMatcher, an AI drug development platform that combines new drug development technology and big data (such as biomarkers for individual cancer drug screening and disease susceptibility by immunotyping, pharmacogenomic typing, and predicting multi-omics information-based drug adverse effects, etc). Pragma Bio is a biotechnology company with an AI-enabled platform that mines microbiome drugs to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. They use real-world data and synthetic biology to map out multi-layered biological signatures associated with clinical outcomes in order to produce natural chemistry with therapeutic potential.
🔷 BioCorteX (UK) is modeling the complex interactions between patients, their microbiome and their treatments, using the company’s flagship product, Carbon Mirror™, a technology incorporating principles of physics and chemistry to create in-silico simulations with high fidelity.
🎾 Breakthroughs in AI-Driven Drug Discovery
🔰 Peptris Technologies: The out-licensing of India’s first AI-discovered drug candidate (preclinical-stage asset, PEPR124/RT001 for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) to Revio Therapeutics marks a milestone in the global adoption of AI for drug discovery, particularly in emerging markets (Peptris Technologies out-licenses AI-discovered drug candidate to Revio Therapeutics). Peptris has developed a platform technology to enhance efficiencies across the drug discovery/development cascade using AI/ML. Revio Therapeutics is a privately held specialty pharma start-up focused on repurposing & optimizing approved medicines
🔰 Galux's De Novo Antibody Design: Galux's study showcases AI's versatility in designing antibodies for multiple therapeutic targets, paving the way for personalized medicine (Galux Unveils a Study in AI-Powered De Novo Antibody Design for Multiple Therapeutic Targets). Galux was established in 2020 with the incorporation of molecular design technology that has been developed over a period of 15 years at Seoul National University and leverages AI, physics and chemistry.
🔰 AI-Powered Databases Boost the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Process: AI-powered databases streamline the identification of potential drug targets and biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. These tools allow researchers to process large-scale genomic, proteomic, and clinical data efficiently (AI-Powered Databases Boost the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Process).
🔷 OrganPredict.AI is empowering Organ Transplant Decisions with Advanced AI Algorithms & Models.
🔷 OrganAI is a quantum leap diagnostics company.
🪩 Financial and Operational Updates
🪅 Absci's Q4 2024 Results: Absci's financial updates reflect the growing commercial viability of AI-powered drug discovery platforms (Absci Reports Business Updates and Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial and Operating Results). Absci (Nasdaq: ABSI) is a generative AI drug creation company that combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create better biologics for patients, and faster. The last report highlighted: updates across proprietary pipeline and demonstrated new breakthroughs by their AI platform; the collaboration with AMD, including a $20M strategic investment in Absci; collaborations with Owkin, Twist Bioscience, Invetx, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.
🪅 Fifty 1 Labs' $10M Acquisition of Genetic Networks: The acquisition highlights the value placed on AI platforms that significantly can reduce drug development timelines by 75% (Fifty 1 Labs' $10M Acquisition Slashes Drug Development Time by 75% with AI Platform). Fifty 1 Labs (OTC: FITY) is a holding company driving innovation in health, wellness, and biotechnology. Genetic Networks has developed cutting-edge biotechnology that integrates genomics, AI, and ML to accelerate drug discovery, namely the GeneScape™ platform, that analyzes gene-drug interactions across 6,000 genes, creating a functional correlation map of cellular activity with 8,000 records and 6,000 data points each.
🪅 Proscia's $50M Raise: Proscia's focus on AI-driven pathology demonstrates the growing recognition of AI's role in transforming traditional pathology workflows (How Proscia is using AI embeddings to transform drug discovery in pathology). Proscia, that just raised $50M, makes digital pathology software and AI applications for cancer diagnosis and is considered a leader 🥇 in digital and computational pathology solutions. Proscia’s Concentriq® digital pathology platform works with every leading WSI scanner on the market today and its open API centralizes all your pathology data in one place making it more accessible and driving insight into your routine practice. Finally, users can launch any AI application from the Concentriq platform and power computational pathology at every organization.
Until next time 🌿🌻