Main topic: Genesis Therapeutics' $200 million Series B funding round for its AI-powered drug discovery platform in the biotech sector.
Key points:
1. Genesis Therapeutics closed a $200 million Series B funding round, led by Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health and an unnamed U.S.-based life-sciences-focused investor.
2. New investors in the round included Fidelity Management & Research Co., BlackRock, and Nvidia’s venture arm NVentures.
3. Genesis Therapeutics plans to use the funding to evolve into a clinical stage company, invest in its AI platform, and expand its discovery pipeline.
Main topic: Former Meta researchers raise $40 million to build new AI language models for biology.
Key points:
1. Former researchers from Meta have launched a startup called EvolutionaryScale and raised $40 million in funding.
2. The startup aims to develop AI language models for biology that can aid in the development of cancer-fighting cells and organisms that clean up toxic waste.
3. The team has already created a transformers-based model trained on protein molecule data, which can predict the structures of unknown proteins and has the potential to advance drug development and industrial chemical manufacturing.
Penn State College of Medicine has awarded $225,000 in pilot funding to researchers as part of its strategic plan to apply artificial intelligence and informatics to advance biomedical research and address health challenges. Nine investigators received seed funding for projects that aim to use cutting-edge technology and computational innovation to develop new therapeutics, diagnostics, and preventive strategies.
Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, particularly machine learning, are increasingly being used in drug research and development (R&D), with applications expanding beyond small molecules to include large-molecule modalities such as antibodies, gene therapies, and RNA-based therapies. These therapies, which make up a significant portion of the biopharma industry's current and future commercial potential, are expected to represent approximately 50% of the oncology market by revenue in 2030, with the majority coming from antibodies.
Major drugmakers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate drug development by quickly finding patients for clinical trials and reducing the number of participants needed, potentially saving millions of dollars. AI is increasingly playing a substantial role in human drug trials, with companies such as Amgen, Bayer, and Novartis using AI tools to scan vast amounts of medical data and identify suitable trial patients, significantly reducing the time and cost of recruitment. The use of AI in drug development is on the rise, with the US FDA receiving over 300 applications that incorporate AI or machine learning in drug development from 2016 through 2022.
Ginkgo Bioworks and Recursion Pharmaceuticals are both using artificial intelligence (AI) in their biotech businesses, but while Ginkgo is focused on streamlining the bioengineering and biomanufacturing process to cut costs and scale revenue, Recursion uses AI and its large dataset for drug development and plans to license its data and tools to other biotechs, making Ginkgo the better AI-enabled biotech stock for now.
Concentric by Ginkgo, the biosecurity and public health unit of Ginkgo Bioworks, will partner with Northeastern University to develop new AI-based technologies for epidemic forecasting as part of a consortium funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
