Unearthing New GEMS: Genesis and Gilead Collaborate to Tackle Tough Drug Targets

Genesis Therapeutics has partnered with Gilead Sciences in a strategic collaboration focusing on Genesis' GEMS (Genesis Exploration of Molecular Space) platform for drug discovery.

Gilead will pay Genesis $35 million upfront to utilize its AI platform on three undisclosed targets, with options to expand to additional targets for a predetermined fee.

GEMS, a core asset of Genesis, stands out for its integration of several AI technologies aimed at exploring chemical spaces and addressing drug targets that are traditionally considered challenging or undruggable.

The platform incorporates:

• ADME-conditioned language models to generate millions of diverse, drug-like molecules, enhancing the molecule generation phase by focusing on key drug-like properties.
• Diffusion models within GEMS are used to accurately predict the 3D structures of protein-ligand complexes, crucial for understanding the potential binding affinities of candidate molecules.
• Physical machine learning simulations, including molecular dynamics and quantum chemistry, simulate molecular interactions in detail, allowing for robust potency and selectivity predictions without relying on extensive datasets.

Genesis Therapeutics' GEMS platform addresses a critical gap in drug discovery: the challenge of data-poor targets where traditional machine learning methods fall short. By integrating predictive and generative models, GEMS is designed to tackle these scenarios, making it particularly valuable in collaborations like the one with Eli Lilly. In this 2022 partnership, valued at up to $670 million, Genesis uses GEMS to generate first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates across multiple therapeutic areas by optimizing small molecules for complex targets.

The collaboration with Gilead grants the company exclusive rights to develop and commercialize compounds discovered through the GEMS platform, with Genesis eligible for additional milestone payments and tiered royalties. This partnership expands Genesis' portfolio of high-profile collaborations, which already includes deals with Eli Lilly and Genentech.

Named as one of Fierce Medtech's “Fierce 15” companies of 2023, Genesis has received $200 million in Series B funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and NVIDIA’s NVentures. Genesis is using this funding to advance its AI-enabled programs into clinical development and to expand its pipeline into new therapeutic areas.

Photo credit: Litay, iStock

Topics: AI & Digital