Absci and AstraZeneca Unite in Groundbreaking AI Alliance to Revolutionize Cancer Therapy Discovery

Absci and AstraZeneca Forge AI Partnership to Discover Cancer Treatments

Absci, a leader in the generative AI-driven antibody discovery sector, has teamed up with AstraZeneca, a biopharmaceutical powerhouse, to harness AI in developing innovative cancer therapies. This collaboration intends to utilize Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation platform, which will synergize with AstraZeneca’s oncology expertise to accelerate the identification of a potentially transformative treatment for cancer.

As part of this partnership, Absci will utilize its groundbreaking generative AI technology to create a therapeutic candidate antibody targeted at a specific oncology application. The agreement includes an initial commitment, significant research and development funding, milestone payments, and royalties on sales of future products.

Sean McClain, the Founder and CEO of Absci, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “AstraZeneca is a leading force in the development of novel oncology treatments, and we are eager to work together to design a therapeutic candidate antibody that can positively impact the lives of cancer patients.”

Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation platform merges generative AI with scalable wet-lab technologies to produce proprietary data by analyzing millions of protein-protein interactions. This data enhances Absci’s proprietary AI models, paving the way for antibody design, which is subsequently validated through laboratory testing. This expedited process allows for completion within approximately six weeks, significantly increasing the likelihood of successful outcomes for biologic drug candidates.

Puja Sapra, PhD, Senior Vice President of Biologics Engineering & Oncology Targeted Delivery at AstraZeneca, remarked, “This collaboration presents an exciting chance to leverage Absci’s innovative AI antibody creation platform to develop a potential new antibody therapy in the field of oncology.”

The announcement comes on the heels of Absci’s recent publication detailing the design and validation of de novo antibodies using their cutting-edge ‘zero-shot’ generative AI model. The partnership between Absci and AstraZeneca promises to showcase how AI can transform the drug discovery landscape.

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