Absci and Owkin partner to advance AI-driven drug discovery

CANADA – Absci Corporation, a leader in generative AI for drug creation, has announced a strategic partnership with Owkin, a TechBio company focused on using agentic AI to unlock complex targets for drug discovery, development, and diagnostics.

The collaboration aims to accelerate the discovery and design of novel therapeutics, particularly for cancer, immune disorders, and inflammation.

By combining Absci’s AI-powered drug creation platform with Owkin’s advanced predictive AI models, the partnership will focus on optimizing target selection, validating therapeutic hypotheses, and developing new drug candidates more efficiently.

Through this partnership, the two companies will co-develop therapeutic candidates that target novel areas in immuno-oncology, immunology, and inflammation.

Owkin will utilize extensive biomedical datasets and patient-derived organoids to enhance target validation, while Absci will employ its de novo antibody design models to quickly generate therapeutic candidates.

The goal is to streamline the process of moving from research to clinical development, accelerating the delivery of life-saving therapies to patients in need.

This collaboration builds on Absci’s growing portfolio of partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and Merck, as well as its internal pipeline of drug candidates.

Similarly, Owkin, with its track record of working with top-tier pharmaceutical companies like Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), has established itself as a pioneer in predictive AI in drug discovery.

The rise of AI in drug discovery has caught the attention of major tech companies as well. For instance, Nvidia invested US $50 million in Recursion Pharmaceuticals last year to support similar AI-driven initiatives in drug development.

Absci’s collaboration with AMD, another significant partnership, also reflects this growing trend.

AMD’s US $20 million investment will allow the chipmaker to apply its AI chips to drug discovery efforts, marking its entry into the life sciences sector.

In December 2023, Absci announced a potential US $247 million partnership with AstraZeneca to advance cancer treatments.

This collaboration leverages Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation platform, which combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies, to optimize drug features.

Absci’s “zero-shot” AI models, which generate antibodies tailored to bind with novel targets without relying on prior data, will play a crucial role in this project.

Absci’s recent research, which highlights the potential of its zero-shot AI model, suggests it could disrupt current drug discovery processes.

The technology allows Absci to screen billions of cells weekly, progressing from AI-designed antibodies to validated candidates within six weeks.

This innovation is expected to broaden drug target options, including those considered “undruggable,” such as GPCRs and ion channels, which are crucial in drug development

In addition to these partnerships, AstraZeneca has formed a new spinoff company, Evinova, which will offer AI-based solutions for enhancing clinical trials.

This initiative is part of a broader trend of tech-driven advancements in drug development, as seen in the collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim and IBM to develop AI-based foundational models for antibody treatments.