Bristol-Myers & Exscientia partner for AI-driven drug discovery
New York-based pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has entered into a collaboration agreement with AI biotech start-up Exscientia to accelerate drug discovery in a number of therapeutic areas including immunology and oncology.
The deal - which could ultimately have a potential value in excess of $1.2 billion (€980 million) - comes as the biotech sector is increasingly using AI technology to accelerate molecular screening for the testing of drugs to combat illnesses ranging from heart disease to cancer.
The agreement is an extension of a previous collaboration between the two that began in 2019 with the company Celgene, which was later acquired by BMS.
Exscientia is to take responsibility for AI-design and experimental work necessary to discover drug candidates associated with this collaboration for BMS. Molecules will be designed using Exscientia’s AI-driven drug discovery platform, which it says "delivers optimised compounds fulfilling complex design goals faster and more effectively than traditional drug discovery".
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Andrew Hopkins, CEO of Oxford-based Exscientia, commented, "We are proud that Bristol Myers Squibb wants to build on our work together with this expanded collaboration and believe it speaks to the strength and promise of Exscientia’s AI technologies and drug discovery expertise. We’re excited to work with such an experienced collaborator as Bristol Myers Squibb to develop the best possible medicines for patients."
Rupert Vessey, President of Research & Early Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb said: "Exscientia’s application of AI technologies is proving capable of generating best-in-class molecules while also reducing discovery times. Rapid discovery of molecules that can enter the clinic in a timely manner could positively impact our work in discovering treatments for areas of unmet medical need."
Drug discovery and bringing it to market is a lengthy process that often takes over a decade and has an average cost per medicine of $2.6 billion (€2.13 billion), according to Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development in Boston
In 2020, Exscientia became the first company to use an AI-designed molecule in human trials. Presently, there are three molecules being tested on humans that were developed by its platform. Its experimental Alzheimer's treatment entered Phase 1 trials last week.
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Nonetheless, all of its potential drugs are still in the earliest stages of human trials and it will take some years to ascertain whether they work or not, while medical regulators have yet to approve an AI-designed drug.
Pharmaceutical investors have put billions of dollars into AI and machine learning-based research in recent years, with many believing these technologies are set to become the next frontier in drug development and innovation.
Research by biotech analysis firm Deep Pharma Intelligence found that there has been a 737% increase in the capital invested in AI-driven pharmaceutical companies since 2014 - a total increase of $1.6 billion (€1.3 billion).
Under the terms of the agreement, BMS will pay $50 million upfront to Exscientia, with a further $125 million over the near to medium term depending on if the company reaches various milestones such as the progression of drugs to the clinical trial stages.
Exscientia, which last month raised $525 million in series D funding from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, said that reaching additional clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones would bring the deal's total value past $1.2 billion after four years.
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BMS is to have the "exclusive licence" to drugs developed under the partnership, with Exscientia taking royalty payments.
The Oxford-based startup has formed partnerships with a number of pharma companies including Germany's Bayer and French drugmaker Sanofi. The company's Alzheimer's drug was developed in collaboration with Japan's Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma.
The two companies will begin by developing three pills or "small molecules" to take on cancer and immunological disorders.
Hopkins later told the FT that within the next decade "there’s a strong argument that all small molecule drugs should be being designed using artificial intelligence."
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