Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI) has announced a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, to leverage Absci’s generative AI antibody discovery platform for the development of an AI-designed antibody targeting an oncology target. The collaboration aims to combine Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation™ platform, which integrates generative AI and wet-lab technologies, with AstraZeneca’s expertise in oncology. The goal is to expedite the discovery of a potential new candidate for cancer treatment.
Absci will contribute its pioneering generative AI technology to design a therapeutic candidate antibody for a specified oncology target. The collaboration involves an upfront commitment, research and development (R&D) funding, milestone payments, and royalties on product sales. The partnership underscores AstraZeneca’s commitment to exploring innovative approaches for novel treatments in oncology.
Sean McClain, Founder & CEO of Absci, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, emphasizing the potential to improve the lives of cancer patients through the creation of transformative therapeutics using Absci’s AI platform. The collaboration builds on Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation™ platform, which combines generative AI and scalable wet-lab technologies to accelerate the drug discovery process.
The Integrated Drug Creation™ platform generates proprietary data by measuring millions of protein-protein interactions, which are then used to train Absci’s proprietary AI models. The platform aims to significantly reduce the drug discovery timeline by completing the cycle of data collection, AI-driven design, and wet-lab validation within an estimated six weeks. This innovative approach expands the scope of potential drug targets, including those previously considered “undruggable.”
Puja Sapra, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Biologics Engineering & Oncology Targeted Delivery at AstraZeneca, emphasized the exciting opportunity to utilize Absci’s de novo AI antibody creation platform for designing a potential new antibody therapy in oncology. This collaboration follows Absci’s recent publication on the design and validation of de novo antibodies using their state-of-the-art ‘zero-shot’ generative AI model and adds to their series of collaborations with prominent biopharmaceutical, healthcare, and technology organizations
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on social media @AstraZeneca.
