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Isomorphic Labs, the London-based, drug discovery-focused spin-out of Google AI R&D division DeepMind, today announced that it’s entered into strategic partnerships with two pharmaceutical giants, Eli Lilly and Novartis, to apply AI to discover new medications to treat diseases.
The deals have a combined value of around $3 billion. Isomorphic will receive $45 million upfront from Eli Lilly and potentially up to $1.7 billion based on performance milestones, excluding royalties. Novartis, meanwhile, will pay $37.5 million upfront in addition to funding “select” research costs and as much as $1.2 billion (once again excluding royalties) in performance incentives over time.
“We’re thrilled to embark on this partnership and apply our proprietary technology platform,” DeepMind co-founder and Isomorphic CEO Demis Hassabis was quote as saying in a press release. “The focus we share on advancing groundbreaking drug design approaches and appreciation of state-of-the-art science makes [these] partnership[s] particularly compelling.”
Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis, added in a statement: “Cutting-edge AI technologies … hold the potential to transform how we discover new drugs and accelerate our ability to deliver life-changing medicines for patients. This collaboration harnesses our companies’ unique strengths, from AI and data science to medicinal chemistry and deep disease area expertise, to realize new possibilities in AI-driven drug discovery.”
Isomorphic, which Hassabis launched in 2021 under DeepMind parent company Alphabet, draws on DeepMind’s AlphaFold 2 AI technology that can be used to predict the structure of proteins in the human body. By uncovering these structures, researchers can identify new target pathways to deliver drugs for fighting disease.
Researchers recently used AlphaFold to design and synthesize a potential drug to treat hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer. And DeepMind is collaborating with Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, a nonprofit pharmaceutical organization that aims to tackle some of the most deadly diseases in the developing world, to apply AlphaFold to formulating therapeutics for Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis.
The latest version of AlphaFold can generate predictions for nearly all molecules in the Protein Data Bank, the world’s largest open access database of biological molecules, DeepMind announced in late October. The model can also accurately predict the structures of ligands — molecules that bind to “receptor” proteins and cause changes in how cells communicate — as well as nucleic acids (molecules that contain key genetic information) and post-translational modifications (chemical changes that occur after a protein’s created).
Already, Isomorphic is applying the new AlphaFold model, which it co-designed with DeepMind, to therapeutic drug design, helping to characterize different types of molecular structures important for treating disease.
If you follow the world of robotic exoskeletons with any frequency, you’re no doubt aware of the two primary categories. The first is aimed firmly at workers with strenuous or repetitive jobs such as lifting and transporting packages. The second is assistive, largely focused at individuals with mobility impairments.
The latter category is often the domain of soft robotic exoskeletons – those with fabric parts designed to be more of a day-to-day assistive accessory. These systems are also increasingly focused on specific issues that impact people’s ability to get around. After all, not all mobility impairments are created equal.
In the case of people with Parkinson’s disease, “freezing” is a frequent issue that impacts the ability to walk, while increasing the likelihood of falls. The symptom causes people to lose their footing while walking, shortening steps before stopping altogether,
There have been a number of attempts to tackle the issue, from medication to physical therapy to surgery, but existing solutions are limited in their efficacy.
New research from a joint team from Harvard and Boston University, published in Nature Medicine, demonstrates how soft robotic exoskeletons can address the issue.
The wearable technology features sensors that detect movement and utilize algorithms to estimate the walker’s gait. Cable-driven actuators kick in, assisting walking mid-stride.
“We found that just a small amount of mechanical assistance from our soft robotic apparel delivered instantaneous effects and consistently improved walking across a range of conditions for the individual in our study,” says Harvard professor, Conor Walsh.
Researchers worked with a 73-year-old man with Parkinson’s who suffers from freezing more than 10 times a day. In their research, which was carried out over the course of six months, Walsh’s team was able to eliminate freezing in patients while walking indoors. In turn, they were also able to walk further and faster.
Harvard notes, “The effect was instantaneous. Without any special training, the patient was able to walk without any freezing indoors and with only occasional episodes outdoors. He was also able to walk and talk without freezing, a rarity without the device.”
The Biodesign Lab is the same group that designed an exosuit for stroke patients that was subsequently licensed by startup, ReWalk Robotics. If the promising early results are any indication, this new technology could someday follow in its footsteps to commercialization.
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