Creators of a new machine-learning drug discovery platform Insilico Medicine has inked a dual-program drug discovery deal with Jiangsu Chia Tai Fenghai Pharmaceutical (CTFH) worth up to $200 million.
Insilico CEO Alex Zhavoronkov.
Why it matters: The partnership is an additional sign of confidence in Insilico’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology following a $37 million Series B secured by the firm just weeks after it proved capable of identifying novel treatment candidates significantly faster than the traditional drug discovery process, which can take decades and cost billions.
Details: Together, Hong Kong-based Insilico and CTFH, which focuses on advanced research and development (R & D) technologies, will run two programs tackling previously untreatable targets in triple-negative breast cancer, using Insilico’s AI-powered platform to accelerate drug discovery and development.
Context: With more than 15,000 drugs in its pipeline, the drug development sector of China’s pharmaceutical industry has grown at a 7.8% compound annual growth rate over the last five years.
Other companies, like YITU Technology and Ping An Technology, are using AI to streamline health-related processes that can be both time-consuming and technically difficult for humans to accomplish.
technode.com