BenevolentAI and AstraZeneca Collaboration Yields Continued Success as Further Novel Target Progressed Into Portfolio
25 June 2024 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
BenevolentAI (“BenevolentAI” or the “Company”) (Euronext
Amsterdam: BAI), a leader in applying advanced AI to accelerate
biopharma drug discovery, announces that AstraZeneca has added a
novel target for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) to its
discovery portfolio through its collaboration with
BenevolentAI.
- Second target to be selected this year from the extended
collaboration with AstraZeneca, highlighting continued positive
progress in the field of target identification
- Novel target for SLE was discovered using BenevolentAI’s
AI-drug discovery platform and experimentally validated by
AstraZeneca
BenevolentAI’s strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca began in
2019 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic kidney disease,
with the collaboration expanded in January 2022 to include heart
failure and SLE. The success today in the extension phase of the
collaboration follows the announcement last month that AstraZeneca
had selected a novel heart failure target to enter its portfolio
and further demonstrates how the Benevolent PlatformTM can be
applied across multiple therapeutic areas.
The strength of the collaboration in the identification of novel
and robust targets is due to its innovative structure combining
AstraZeneca’s scientific and disease-specific expertise with
BenevolentAI’s AI-driven drug discovery platform and biomedical
knowledge. As with the initial collaboration with AstraZeneca, the
2022 extension included an upfront payment on signing, as well as
research funding alongside discovery, development and commercial
milestones, in addition to tiered royalties on net sales of any
commercialised products.
SLE, or lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune
system mistakenly identifies the body’s own tissues as foreign. In
people with lupus, the immune system creates autoantibodies to
attack the body’s own tissues. These autoantibodies form immune
complexes causing inflammation, pain and damage – often affecting
the organs and joints in severe cases. Extreme fatigue and
cognitive issues are also common, along with comorbidities
including cardiovascular disease. Lupus disproportionately affects
females and people of Asian, Black African and Caribbean
heritage.
Dr Anne Phelan, Chief Scientific Officer of BenevolentAI,
said:
“Following our recent success in the area of heart failure, I’m
delighted that AstraZeneca has selected a novel target for SLE to
enter its portfolio. The continued, fruitful efforts of our two
companies working in collaboration will help bring potential new
therapeutic options to lupus patients, whose quality of life is
often severely limited by the disease.”
Prof Maria Belvisi, SVP and Head of Research and Early
Development Respiratory and Immunology at AstraZeneca said:
“Our aim is to lead in lupus by continuing to discover and
develop novel treatments that push the efficacy ceiling for
patients, allowing more people to achieve remission. By combining
our immunology disease area expertise and BenevolentAI’s AI-driven
discovery platform, we are increasing our ability to identify new
targets based on patient insights, complementing our portfolio of
potential treatments for this debilitating disease.”
Category: non-regulatory
About BenevolentAI
At BenevolentAI (AMS: BAI), we serve patients by leveraging our
proprietary and validated Benevolent Platform™ that integrates AI
and science to uncover new biology, predict novel targets and
develop first-in-class or best-in-class drugs for complex diseases.
By applying proprietary advanced AI tools, in combination with
in-house scientific expertise and wet-lab facilities, BenevolentAI
is well-positioned to identify and accelerate novel drug
discovery.
The Company’s business model presents multiple routes for value
creation including discovery collaborations with pharma companies
like AstraZeneca and Merck and advancing in-house pipelines to
inflection points. Headquartered in London, with wet labs in
Cambridge (UK), BenevolentAI is at the forefront of reshaping the
future of drug discovery and delivering innovative medicines.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240624367158/en/
Investors: Catherine Isted – Chief Financial Officer
investors@benevolent.ai T: +44(0) 203 781 9360
Media: James Osborn – Communications Lead
press@benevolent.ai T: +44(0) 203 781 9360
FTI Consulting: Ben Atwell / Simon Conway / Victoria
Foster Mitchell BenevolentAI@fticonsulting.com T: +44 203 727
1000