UK-based artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery company Exscientia has received a $4.2m two-year grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to apply its two Centaur platforms to three global health challenges: malaria, tuberculosis (TB),聽and聽non-hormonal contraception.
Exscientia鈥檚 AI platforms 鈥� Centaur Biologist and Centaur Chemist 鈥� will be leveraged to identify new next-generation targets and leads for these unmet needs in infectious disease and family planning.
The company鈥檚 CEO Andrew Hopkins noted: 鈥淓xscientia聽is committed to聽applying AI to聽deliver transformational聽drugs for the benefit of all patients. We are delighted to聽receive financial support from聽the聽foundation聽to develop聽much-needed first-in-class therapies聽to聽these聽disease areas to聽address聽key global health needs.鈥�
Deep dive into the Centaur platforms
Exscientia portfolio manager Dr Denise Barrault explains that focuses on 鈥渋dentifying and quantifying new targets鈥or new therapies鈥�. Target identification is one of the biggest challenges in drug discovery.
The platform leverages 鈥渓arge data sets from the literature, large-scale repositories, like genetic repositories, and other relevant data, including privately owned data if we can access it,鈥� Barrault says. It applies deep learning algorithms to these data sets to pull out promising targets for a particular disease.
, Barrault notes, is used to actually develop new drugs using AI algorithms and machine learning. 鈥淭he aim of the Centaur Chemist platform is to deliver small molecule drugs that have a high chance of success in the clinic鈥�, adds Barrault.
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By GlobalDataShe explains that Exscientia can design various features into novel treatments, including optimising their activity against certain targets or phenotypes, reducing toxicity and developing bispecific drugs against two targets.
Tackling unmet needs in malaria, TB and contraceptives
鈥淭he big picture is when you combine these two platforms and apply them to a major global health challenges you really get the full benefits of Exscientia,鈥� says Barrault. 鈥淵ou can really open new targets and find new drug regimes for disease and hopefully cure more patients in the world.鈥�
Malaria and TB are leading causes of death worldwide, a situation that is compounded by inadequate treatments marred by drug resistance. Barrault notes 鈥渂y using a bispecific approach [which Centaur Chemist can do], we can almost reduce the chances of resistance to zero鈥�.
Family planning has a crucial role to play in reducing maternal, infant and child mortality. 鈥淭he project for non-hormonal contraceptives is really about unlocking these new opportunities for women and giving them new choices to control their fertility without the perceived side effects and health risks associated with hormonal contraceptives,鈥� according to Barrault. Exscientia will be applying a single-target approach for the non-hormonal contraception project.
Barrault notes Exscientia has been talking to the Gates Foundation for many years and it became 鈥渧ery clear there were projects where it would make sense for us to collaborate鈥�.
鈥淥ur platforms are disease-agnostic so we can apply them to any problem,鈥� states Barrault. But this grant gives the company an 鈥渙pportunity to explore disease areas we wouldn鈥檛 necessarily pursue on our own鈥�, and therefore make a real difference in low-income countries to alleviate poverty and disease.
The two-year $4.2m grant also grants Exscientia access to databases, biological assets and expertise from the Gates Foundation. The partners hope that by combining this with Exscientia鈥檚 AI Centaur platforms, new therapies to address these unmet needs can be developed efficiently and reach patients as quickly as possible.
Barrault is hopeful that within the two-year grant period Exscientia will have 鈥減roved the platform is worth its while in [these] disease areas鈥� and the drugs will be well on their way to the clinic.
