1 Servier and Google Cloud

Servier and Google Cloud have announced an expanded five-year partnership focused on using AI and generative AI (gen AI) to accelerate the research and development (R&D) of innovative therapeutic solutions for patients. 

According to Servier, by analysing large amounts of medical data in real time, researchers and clinicians will be able to save valuable time, particularly in identifying therapeutic targets and patient subpopulations most likely to respond positively to a treatment in development. 

“Our enhanced collaboration with Google Cloud gives us the opportunity to harness the full potential of AI to reach scientific conclusions more rapidly and thus increase the productivity of our R&D,” said Claude Bertrand, Executive Vice President R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Servier. 

2 Absci and Owkin

Absci and techbio Owkin have agreed to co-develop therapeutic candidates addressing novel targets in immuno-oncology and other indications, such as immunology and inflammation. 

Owkin’s predictive AI models will optimise target selection and validate therapeutic hypotheses using biomedical datasets and patient-derived organoids. Absci’s gen AI Drug Creation platform, including its de novo antibody design models, will design therapeutic candidates against these novel targets.  

Thomas Clozel, CEO and Co-Founder of Owkin, said: “This partnership with Absci represents a significant step forward in our journey to bring transformative therapies to patients. By bringing together Owkin’s AI agents that can identify and experimentally validate novel therapeutic targets with Absci’s pioneering capabilities in developing biologic drug candidates, we aim to accelerate the delivery of next-generation treatments.” 

3 UCB and Ailux Biologics 

UCB and XtalPi have signed a license agreement on XtalFold, a biologics AI platform developed by Ailux Biologics, a division of XtalPi.  

Under the agreement, Ailux Biologics grants UCB a non-exclusive license to leverage XtalFold for the discovery and engineering of biologics. 

Yi (Alex) Li, VP of XtalPi and Head of Ailux Biologics, said: “The recent Nobel Prize highlighted the groundbreaking impact of protein structure prediction. XtalFold exemplifies this innovation, offering a commercially validated solution with rapid industry adoption. We’re excited to join forces with UCB to further explore its potential.” 

Alexander Hillisch, Head of Global CADD, UCB added: “Our decision to license this tool comes after extensive testing and evaluation against other computational approaches and we believe it has the potential to enhance UCB’s ability to rapidly and efficiently discover high quality therapeutic antibody candidates and ultimately deliver new medicines to patients.” 

4 Absci and AMD

In another deal for Absci, the company has announced a strategic collaboration with AMD to use AMD Instinct accelerators and ROCm software for AI drug discovery workloads. 

AMD will also make a $20 million investment in Absci, structured as a private investment in public equity (PIPE). 

Sean McClain, Founder & CEO of Absci, said: “AMD high-performance compute will enable us to further the development of next-generation antibody therapeutics, and we are excited about the potential that this partnership holds to accelerate the future of drug discovery.” 

“We are proud to partner with Absci, a company at the forefront of AI-driven drug discovery, to help further accelerate breakthroughs in therapeutics and transform how biologic drugs are developed,” said Mark Papermaster, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of AMD.  

5 PhaseV and University Health Network

PhaseV has partnered with Canadian research hospital University Health Network (UHN) to develop an ML-driven solution to tackle key challenges in the field of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). 

“Like most systemic diseases, lupus appears in different ways. Our work with PhaseV could improve our understanding of this heterogeneity, as well as its mechanisms and treatment responses,” said Zahi Touma, Clinician-Scientist, University Health Network, Rheumatology Arthritis Program and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto. “This allows for optimisation in clinical trial design, leading to improved possibilities in the development of more effective SLE therapies.” 

PhaseV’s Causal-ML platform models disease progression using real-world data to identify subtle signals that enhance understanding of the prognostic factors that influence disease heterogeneity. 

6 Quris-AI and Merck

Merck has adopted Quris’ Bio-AI clinical prediction platform as part of its drug development pipeline. 

Selected preclinical small molecule candidates will now be tested through the Quris-AI platform prior to initiating clinical trials.  

This follows a successful two-year validation study, in which Quris-AI delivered a significantly higher accuracy in detecting drug-induced liver injury (DILI) compared to existing safety prediction approaches, potentially reducing reliance on animal testing. 

“Thanks to technology breakthroughs, we can confirm the viability and safety of drug candidates well before they reach the clinical testing phase, reducing unnecessary risks and focusing resources, time, and budget on the drugs with the most potential,” said Dr Isaac Bentwich, CEO of Quris-AI. 

7 Cmbio and Eagle Genomics

Cmbio has purchased the e[datascientist] software platform through an Asset Sale Agreement with Eagle Genomics.

The sale includes all intellectual property related to Eagle Genomics’ business. 

Anders Grøn, CEO of Cmbio, commented: “This acquisition reinforces our commitment to supporting customers by delivering multi-omics science at scale through enabling technology that meets future demands in digital biology. 

Cmbio was created through a series of transactions merging Clinical Microbiomics with CosmosID, MS-Omics, DNASense, and Microba’s Research Service Unit.

Diana Spencer, Senior Digital Content Editor, DDW