Insilico Medicine Appoints Nirav Jhaveri as Chief Financial Officer

 NEW YORK and HONG KONG, Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery company, today announced the appointment of Nirav Jhaveri as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to oversee capital markets, investor relations, financial operations, and corporate development.

"It is an honor to join a pioneering company at the forefront of innovation in drug discovery. Insilico is leveraging its AI platform to accelerate the research and development process across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, inflammation and infectious diseases," said Mr. Jhaveri. "Building on the momentum of the Company's recent Series C financing with $255 million raised from leading, global institutional investors, I look forward to supporting Insilico's goal of developing novel therapies to treat serious and life-threatening disorders."


In August, Insilico nominated a second preclinical candidate for kidney fibrosis following the nomination of its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis candidate in February 2021. In September, the Company hired Dr. Robert Spiegel, the former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Schering Plough, as CMO to oversee clinical translation of these and other exciting preclinical pipeline assets.

Mr. Jhaveri brings two decades of capital markets, business development and biopharma experience. Before joining Insilico, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Journey Medical Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for business development, corporate strategy and capital raising. Prior to Journey Medical, Mr. Jhaveri was Vice President, Business Development, at Fortress Biotech. Earlier in his career, he held roles in equity research at Citigroup and investment banking at Bank of America. He earned his B.A. in Chemistry and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. Mr. Jhaveri is a CFA charterholder.

"Nirav brings substantial capital markets and business development experience that will complement the firm's strategic objectives. Our goal is to exploit our technology to develop novel, clinical-stage assets in- house as well as in collaboration with biopharmaceutical partners, which will further validate Insilico's leading AI capabilities in drug discovery," said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine.

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery company, is developing artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms use deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and ageing-related diseases. Website http://insilico.com/

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PAQ Therapeutics Announces Collaboration with Insilico Medicine to Develop Novel Therapies through Autophagy-Dependent Degradation

 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PAQ Therapeutics ("PAQ"), a biotechnology company harnessing the power of autophagy to restore health and cure disease, and Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop small molecule therapies designed to hijack the autophagy pathway to address novel disease targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, both parties will leverage Insilico's small molecule compound generation platform Chemistry42 and other AI-powered drug discovery technologies in combination with PAQ's autophagosome-tethering compound (ATTEC) technology platform to discover novel small molecules with the potential to catalyze and selectively enhance the degradation of disease-causing entities through autophagy.

"As part of PAQ's ongoing efforts to therapeutically harness autophagy-dependent degradation, one key next step is to integrate cutting-edge technologies like AI that support our overall hit-finding and drug discovery strategy," said Nan Ji, Ph.D., Co-founder, President and CEO, PAQ Therapeutics. "We are excited to leverage Insilico's deep expertise and proven track record in AI-driven drug discovery during a pivotal time in our company's growth and progress."

Autophagy is the natural cellular degradation mechanism that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent mechanism. With its powerful ATTEC technology platform, PAQ expands the therapeutic potential of autophagy to target not only disease-causing proteins, but also lipids, pathogens, and other substrates with the goal of restoring health. Insilico's AI-powered drug discovery platforms utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques to speed the generation of new molecular structures with specific properties, improving the efficiency and success of drug discovery.

"PAQ's autophagy-dependent approach supports a pivotal moment in the evolution of drug discovery and design by expanding the ability to target the disease-causing substrates underlying diseases with limited or no treatment options," said Feng Ren, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Drug R&D at Insilico. "Insilico is pleased to partner with PAQ Therapeutics to leverage our AI-driven drug discovery platforms in advancing drug R&D of ATTECs to address unmet medical needs."

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery company, is developing artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms use deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and age-related diseases. For more information, visit www.insilico.com.

About PAQ Therapeutics

PAQ Therapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to restoring heath and curing disease through autophagy, the body's most versatile mechanism for natural cellular degradation. With our ATTEC (autophagosome-tethering compound) technology, we are developing a novel class of small molecule degraders capable of binding a diverse array of substrates to the autophagy pathway. PAQ's research advances are driving an important new class of degradation therapies with the potential to fundamentally transform drug discovery and development and target a range of substrates including proteins, aggregates, lipids, organelles, and pathogens. For more information, visit www.paqtx.com.

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Huadong Medicine and Insilico Medicine enter co-development partnership to advance oncology drug discovery by hitting undruggable targets

 SHANGHAI, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huadong Medicine (SZ.000963) and Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, announced today that the companies have entered into a co-development partnership to accelerate the discovery of breakthrough small-molecule therapeutics by leveraging an innovative approach to oncology.

Pursuant to the collaboration agreement, Insilico and Huadong Medicine will launch a new drug discovery project involving the research and development (R&D) teams of both parties. The collaboration will leverage Huadong Medicine's advanced innovative drug discovery and screening characterization platform, in combination with Insilico's end-to-end AI-driven drug discovery platform, particularly the small molecule generation platform Chemistry42, in order to design and screen out potential first-in-class ("FIC") drug molecules with superior activity that may increase the druggability of targets. The project team will interfere with protein-protein interactions to hit undruggable targets that regulate tumor growth.

Insilico's self-developed small molecule generation platform Chemistry42 combines AI technology with computational and medicinal chemistry methods to efficiently generate novel molecular structures with desired properties for specific targets. This platform helps to screen and obtain potential therapeutic molecules, which are verified in vitro and in vivo, and delivers rapid comprehensive solutions from hits to preclinical candidates ("PCC").

Huadong Medicine, a publicly-traded pharmaceutical company with fully integrated R&D, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing capabilities, has more than 10,000 employees and a sales force covering thousands of hospitals in China. In addition, Huadong Medicine's R&D organization currently has more than 1000 FTEs involved in drug discovery, preclinical research, clinical research, CMC, and RA. Huadong Medicine focuses on innovation and transformation strategies and is committed to concentrating its advantages and R&D resources to build prospective products R&D pipeline in the fields of oncology, endocrine/metabolic, and autoimmune disease with the help of advanced technology and methods from its partners.

"Complementary advantages and cooperative innovation have increasingly become the trends of novel drug discovery and development. Insilico is honored to form a partnership with Huadong Medicine. By leveraging the strength of Insilico's advanced small molecule generation platform Chemistry42 and Huadong Medicine's powerful target verification and screening platform, we will hit previously undruggable targets by inhibiting protein-protein interactions, in order to meet unmet medicinal needs efficiently," said Feng Ren, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Drug R&D at Insilico.

"The combination of AI and novel drug R&D can greatly improve the efficiency of drug R&D, and has the potential to significantly shorten timelines and reduce the cost of drug design, discovery, pre-clinical R&D, and clinical development. We look forward to collaborating with the leading international AI company Insilico, by leveraging respective advantages of both companies, in advancing the development of potential FIC drug molecules to meet increasing clinical medical needs, in addition to providing patients with more, better and ground-breaking treatment options," said Dongzhou Liu, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and President of Global Research and Development at Huadong Medicine.

About Insilico Medicine
Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery company, is developing artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms use deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging-related diseases. For more information, please visit www.insilico.com.

About Huadong Medicine
Huadong Medicine Co., Ltd. (SZ.000963) is a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company based in Hangzhou, China. Founded in 1993, Huadong Medicine has fully integrated R&D, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing capabilities. Huadong Medicine's product portfolio and pipeline are specialized in oncology, immunology, nephrology, and diabetes. The Company's annual revenue in 2020 exceeded 5 billion USD. Huadong Medicine has more than 10,000 employees, and one of the most extensive commercial coverage and marketing capabilities in China. 'Patient Centered, Science Driven' is Huadong's value. For more information, please visit www.eastchinapharm.com/en.

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Insilico Medicine and University of Cambridge Announce a Collaboration on Target Identification for Human Diseases Linked to Protein Liquid-liquid Phase Separation

 

HONG KONG, Sept. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) -driven drug discovery company, specialized in target discovery, small molecule chemistry, and clinical development, announced a collaboration with the University of Cambridge.

The agreement outlines a constructive framework whereby Insilico licenses PandaOmics, an AI-driven target discovery tool, to the University of Cambridge and fully sponsors a post-graduate studentship for target identification for human diseases linked to protein liquid-liquid phase separation.

Recent research shows that protein liquid-liquid phase separation is widely present in cells and drives a variety of important biological functions. The cellular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation have been associated with various human diseases, although the causative molecular mechanisms remain to be established. This calls for effective target identification studies to enable successful drug discovery programs for this class of diseases.

The collaboration between Insilico and the University of Cambridge will focus on major human diseases linked to protein liquid-liquid phase separation. According to the agreement, the two parties will combine the pioneering approach introduced by Prof. Michele Vendruscolo's group at the University of Cambridge, which allows for the proteome-wide prediction of the propensity of proteins to form liquid condensates, with the power of PandaOmics by Insilico to link these proteins with cellular processes and human disease. The outcome will be a series of targets for drug discovery, with the goal of modulating their cytotoxic behavior pharmacologically upon liquid-liquid phase separation.

"Professor Michele Vendruscolo's lab is one of the world's top centers of competence and knowledge creation in neurodegenerative diseases and protein homeostasis. I am deeply honored to know that a graduate student equipped with the AI-powered target discovery tool PandaOmics may have a chance to contribute to this very promising research direction" said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., founder and CEO, Insilico.

"I am delighted that we will have the opportunity to join forces with Insilico. By working together, we will be in a strong position to identify the biological processes and the corresponding proteins representing the best targets for pharmacological interventions for human diseases caused by aberrant liquid-liquid phase separation," said Prof. Michele Vendruscolo, Co-Director, Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge.

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery company, is developing artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms use deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and age-related diseases. Website http://insilico.com/

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Insilico Medicine Appoints the Former Chief Medical Officer of Schering Plough, Dr. Robert Spiegel, MD, FACP, as acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to Oversee the Clinical Translation of its Preclinical Pipeline Assets

SHANGHAI and NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end AI-powered drug discovery company, today announced the appointment of Robert Spiegel as acting CMO to oversee the clinical translation of its preclinical pipeline assets.

Dr. Spiegel brings over 35 years of extensive R&D executive and operational experience in biopharmaceuticals and as an advisor to venture capital and private equity firms.

"It is a great opportunity to be joining Insilico Medicine at this time in the company's evolution. Insilico has a broad discovery pipeline based on the identification of critical pathways affecting acute and chronic systems biology in multiple therapy areas. These include oncology, immunology, inflammation, and infectious diseases. Multiple innovative preclinical programs are targeted to enter the clinic in the coming years. Insilico Medicine offers a unique opportunity to improve the lives of patients with serious and life-threatening disorders. Insilico is built to utilize AI to bring speed and predictive value to the discovery and development process. I am very excited to be part of an innovative company in this field and bringing their discoveries to the clinic." stated Dr. Spiegel.

In August, Insilico nominated the second preclinical candidate for kidney fibrosis following the announcement of the nomination of the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) candidate in February 2021.

Following a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in medical oncology, Dr. Spiegel was the Director of Developmental Therapeutics at NYU Cancer Center. He spent over 25 years at Schering-Plough (now Merck & Co.), where he joined as the first Director for Oncology Clinical Research, and has subsequently held a series of senior executive positions, including SVP Worldwide Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer from 1998-2010. Dr. Spiegel led the development of Intron A (interferon alpha), Temodar® (temozolomide), and Remicade® (infliximab), and was involved in the approval process of over 30 New Drug Applications by the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Spiegel has been a consultant to the biotech industry and has served on the scientific advisory board and board of directors of multiple biotech companies. He received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Yale University and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. 

"Dr. Spiegel brings decades of clinical research and regulatory experience and one of the industry's broadest networks in the clinical space. Our intention is to use our technology to develop clinical-stage assets in house as well as strengthen and validate Inclinico, our clinical trial outcome prediction and optimization engine", said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. 

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery company, is developing artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms use deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and ageing-related diseases. 

Website: http://insilico.com/

Media Contact

For further information, images, or interviews, please contact pr@insilico.com.

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Insilico Medicine Collaborates with Gray Matter to Fight Age-related Cognitive Decline

Insilico Medicine Announces a Strategic AI-driven R&D Collaboration with Gray Matter on Fighting Age-related CNS Diseases and Aging

HONG KONG, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Insilico Medicine is pleased to announce an R&D collaboration with Gray Matter, a longevity biotechnology company focused on peptide-based interventions against cognitive decline, age-related CNS diseases, and aging. This strategic partnership is intended to speed up the discovery of new therapeutic targets for peptide therapy in the field of age-related cognitive decline and involve Insilico Medicine's AI-augmented platforms and close cooperation between the Gray Matter and Insilico Medicine scientists.


The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) rises from 6.7% (1 in every 14 people) for ages 60–64 to 25.2% (1 in every four people) for the 80–84 cohort. People diagnosed with MCI are 3-5 times more likely to develop dementia of some form. With the adult population growing older and the increase in the need for health and social services, the public health community is challenged to be proactive. This is particularly important as these issues can impact not only older adults but also their families and friends who act as caregivers.


Peptide therapy is well suited to develop treatments for chronic conditions such as MCI. There is a considerable amount of longitudinal data on peptides which indicates that the class may present a more favorable risk-benefit profile as compared to interventions based on gene therapy, cell therapy and other novel approaches. Moreover, the production of peptide-based drugs can be more cost-effective compared to other novel drug types.

"We aim to develop a new generation of safe and effective therapies to help patients live longer, healthier lives with their cognition intact. We see a remarkable synergy between our rapid iterative approach based on proprietary peptide discovery engine Reptide and AI-powered target discovery by Insilico Medicine. This collaboration is intended to help Gray Matter further to reduce costs and timeline for early drug development," said Alexey Strygin, co-founder and CEO of Gray Matter.

"Insilico is advancing its latest target identification systems utilizing machine learning, generative biology methods, and synthetic data generation pipelines, and we are pleased to be collaborating with Gray Matter on its target identification efforts. Searching for peptide targets is an important modality of the target discovery in general, and we are happy to apply our technology in this challenging area," said Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO of Insilico Medicine.

In August, Insilico Medicine nominated the second preclinical candidate for kidney fibrosis.

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery company, is developing artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms use deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and ageing-related diseases. Website http://insilico.com/

For further information, images, or interviews, please contact pr@insilico.com.

About Gray Matter

Gray Matter is a preclinical biotechnology company with a therapeutic pipeline in cognitive decline, age-related CNS diseases, and aging. Gray Matter is a part of the Lactocore group. The Lactocore group develops drugs in stress-related and metabolic disorders, leveraging deep scientific expertise in regulatory peptides, including those in mammalian milk, and a proprietary computational discovery platform.

Media and Investor relations: ir@graymatter.bio

Website https://graymatter.bio/

LI https://www.linkedin.com/company/graymatterbio/

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