Today's Edition
ALLAN JACOB (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi medical researchers are using artificial intelligence to fast-track the development of life-saving drugs that could transform treatments.
In a new breakthrough, a biotech company based in the UAE capital has developed a treatment using AI that shows promise in the fight against blood cancer.
The company, Insilico Medicine UAE, said it used a generative AI platform to develop two compounds that target protein enzymes that drive the spread of the disease.
The drugs are currently in the trials phase but could go a long way in treating cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma which affect B cells, a type of immune cell found in the body.
The drugs in trials come under a relatively new class known as Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degraders. BTK supports signalling in the body that helps cancer cells grow and survive, and these ‘degraders’ help terminate their growth.
The findings of early trials were first published online in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Research by the team at Insilico developed two compounds that have the potential to galvanise other tools that are needed to destroy the protein causing cancerous cells, according to the paper.
“The lead compounds ISM-PR25 and ISM-PR44 demonstrate sufficient efficacy in degrading BTK protein in malignant B cells and helps recruit the machinery needed for protein degradation,” said the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry of the Insilico paper submitted after review.
Trials were conducted on mice which showed 26% efficacy for ISM-PR25 and 29% for ISM-PR44, said Insilico.
Commenting on this milestone in biotech research, Alex Aliper, President of Insilico Medicine, said AI could speed up the development of life-saving drugs and treatments.
“Our ambition in Abu Dhabi is to build a team that can originate new medicines and contribute to international drug discovery,” he said.
The company, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, developed the first drug using AI earlier this year.
“Following our UAE-based discovery of the PRMT5 preclinical candidate, this BTK degrader publication demonstrates the range of scientific problems our local team can tackle. It is another step in building lasting drug discovery capabilities here in the UAE.” said Aliper.
Insilico’s AI platform Chemistry42 is spearheading this research, and the company has nine drugs already in different stages of trials, including rentosertib (ISM001-055), the world's first drug candidate researched and developed using generative AI. The drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is in phase 3 trials.
