Insilico Medicine and Sanofi Report AI-Enabled Milestone in Drug Discovery for Oncology
Insilico Medicine, a biotechnology company focused on AI-driven drug discovery, announced a milestone in its collaboration with Sanofi, targeting “undruggable” molecular sites within oncology. Established in November 2022, the collaboration identified a lead molecule with first-in-class (FIC) potential against a challenging transcription factor. This target is typically inaccessible through conventional drug development methods.
Utilizing Insilico’s AI platforms, PandaOmics and Chemistry42, the joint research team focused on designing novel molecular structures that could potentially bind to this challenging site. Chemistry42 enabled scaffold design and optimization, a process essential to advancing targets traditionally seen as unreachable.
Insilico’s CEO, Alex Zhavoronkov, noted on his LinkedIn page that while this achievement may not gain broad public attention due to Insilico's other programs already reaching clinical trials and some completing Phase 2, it still provides valuable insights into AI's role in complex drug discovery.
With Sanofi reprioritizing its focus, Insilico will independently advance this oncology program while both companies continue to pursue other potential targets together. The partnership includes fees totaling $21.5 million, with potential payments reaching up to $1.2 billion as additional milestones are achieved.
Topic: Industry Movers
