EXSCIENTIA
9.4.2021 07:32:05 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Exscientia, a leading artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pharmatech company, today announced the first AI-designed molecule for immuno-oncology to enter human clinical trials. The A2a receptor antagonist, which is in development for adult patients with advanced solid tumours, was co-invented and developed through a Joint Venture between Exscientia and Evotec, including application of Exscientia’s next generation 3-D evolutionary AI-design platform as part of Centaur Chemist® . The drug candidate has potential for best-in-class characteristics, with high selectivity for the target receptor, bringing together potential benefits of reduced systemic sides effects as well as minimal brain exposure to avoid undesired psychological side effects. Preclinical data related to this project will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting to be held 9-14 April, 2021.
With this announcement, the company’s AI technologies and drug-hunting expertise are now responsible for the first two AI-designed drugs to enter Phase I testing, following on from Exscientia’s previous announcement in 2020.1
Andrew Hopkins, CEO of Exscientia said, “Immuno-oncology medicines are bringing benefit to a range of cancer patients. Our selective A2a receptor antagonist addresses a next-generation immuno-oncology strategy to empower the human immune system by reversing the effects of high adenosine concentrations. We set ambitious therapeutic objectives for this project, especially high selectivity for the A2a receptor and central nervous system (CNS) sparing properties, in order to reduce the likelihood of systemic side effects. Even with these challenging objectives, we were able to discover our candidate molecule within 8 months of project initiation.”
Tumour cells produce high levels of adenosine, a molecule that helps them escape immune system detection by binding to the A2a receptor on cancer fighting T-cells, reducing T-cell ability to eliminate disease.2 Exscientia’s AI-designed A2a receptor antagonist is being investigated for its ability to prevent adenosine from binding to the T-cell receptor and potentially promote anti-tumour T-cell activity.
ENDS
About Exscientia
Exscientia is an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pharmatech committed to discovering and designing the best possible medicines in the fastest and most effective manner. Exscientia is the first company to progress AI-designed small molecules into the clinical setting and repeatedly demonstrate the ability of AI to transform the how drugs are created.
Drug design is precision engineering at the molecular scale. Exscientia has built dedicated AI systems that efficiently learn from the widest range of data and consistently reapply enhanced knowledge through iterations of design. Because Exscientia’s AI platform learns more effectively and rapidly than human-led efforts alone, candidate molecules satisfying complex therapeutic requirements are created with revolutionary efficiency. Exscientia believes that designing better drugs, faster, will allow the best ideas of science to rapidly become the best medicines for patients.
For more information visit us on www.exscientia.ai or follow us on Twitter @exscientiaAI .
1 Exscientia. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Exscientia Joint Development New Drug Candidate Created Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Begins Clinical Trial. Available at: https://www.exscientia.ai/news-insights/sumitomo-dainippon-pharma-and-exscientia-joint-development Last accessed: April 2021.
2 Vigano, S., Alatzoglou, D., Irving, M., Ménétrier-Caux, C., Caux, C., Romero, P. and Coukos, G., 2019. Targeting adenosine in cancer immunotherapy to enhance T-cell function. Frontiers in immunology , 10 , p.925.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210408005918/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Navan Unveils New Ways to Book, Expense, and Travel at Navigate Europe 202615.10.2026 16:30:00 CEST | Press release
New capabilities deliver agentic travel and expense management in Slack collaboration software, expand global card issuing, and simplify guest reimbursement Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform, unveiled a new set of capabilities and product updates at Navigate Europe, its flagship customer conference. The updates bring Navan into more workplace tools, expand card issuing to new currencies, and simplify guest reimbursement, all while giving businesses greater visibility and control. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261015250476/en/ “Business never stands still. Our customers are constantly expanding and expecting more value, which is why we continue to innovate and elevate every part of the employee experience,” said Michael Riegel, Chief Customer Officer at Navan. “We’ve spent years building the global technology infrastructure and expertise to make travel and expens
FlightSafety International to Deliver New Embraer E190-E2 Full-Flight Simulator to Azul Brazilian Airlines15.10.2026 16:05:00 CEST | Press release
New simulator will support commercial pilot training at Azul’s training center in Brazil FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI), the global leader in aviation training and simulation technology, today announced an agreement with Azul Brazilian Airlines to design and manufacture a new Embraer E190-300 (E190-E2) Level D Full-Flight Simulator. Anticipated for delivery in late 2027, the simulator will expand Azul’s pilot training capabilities at its training center in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. “Our partnership with Azul reflects a shared commitment to advancing aviation training and safety,” said Michele Posey, Executive Vice President, Sales, FlightSafety International. “This new simulator will provide Azul pilots with a highly realistic training environment that supports the development of critical skills and prepares them for the demands of commercial flight operations.” “This new simulator represents another important investment in Azul’s operational excellence and long-term growth s
Sysco Awards Partner of the Year Award to Grid Dynamics15.10.2026 15:15:00 CEST | Press release
Key Takeaways: Sysco, a global foodservice distribution leader, named Grid Dynamics its Partner of the Year. Grid Dynamics was recognized for its efforts with AI initiatives at Sysco’s business operations. Grid Dynamics’ contributions spanned across product search and discovery, digital commerce, and engineering delivery. Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GDYN) (“Grid Dynamics”) today announced that Sysco, the global foodservice distribution leader, has named the company its Partner of the Year. The recognition honors Grid Dynamics’ approach and expertise in bringing AI into Sysco’s technology and business operations. Sysco is the global leader in foodservice distribution, generating $84.6 billion in sales for its fiscal year ended June 27, 2026, and serving approximately 670,000 customer locations across 10 countries. The partnership began in 2024 with Grid Dynamics teams working alongside Sysco across product search and discovery, digital commerce, and AI-first software developme
The Outcome Economy at Work – New Research From Vertage15.10.2026 15:01:00 CEST | Press release
Outcome-ready businesses outperform on customer satisfaction, strategic delivery and speed to value – with a clear cultural edge; new Vertage research shows why, and how others can catch up Three in four enterprises (74%) define significant work around outcomes, but only 15% are ready to deliver it consistently, according to new global research from HR tech leader Vertage. These ‘outcome-ready’ enterprises report higher customer satisfaction (91% vs. 67%), stronger delivery of strategic goals (86% vs. 65%) and faster conversion of opportunities into value (85% vs. 64%). They also have a cultural edge: 69% of their employees understand their contribution and can adapt how they work, compared with 34% elsewhere. "AI adoption no longer separates strong businesses from the rest. Outcome readiness does," said Edzard Overbeek, Group CEO of Vertage. "The strongest businesses organize people, partners and AI around a clear result, and they keep human judgment at the center." The study, The Out
Introducing Ledger Atom™—Everything You Value, Finally Secure15.10.2026 14:45:00 CEST | Press release
Ledger Atom™ is a security and privacy device that runs your everyday apps, purpose-built to protect your most sensitive digital value, in a world where AI is challenging cybersecurity and authenticity at an unprecedented level. Ledger™, the global leader in secure infrastructure for digital ownership, today unveiled Ledger Atom™, a security and privacy device that runs your everyday apps, purpose-built to help protect your money, your AI agent approvals, and your privacy. The innovative architecture of Ledger Atom, leveraging Android™ open source alongside Ledger OS™, Ledger’s proprietary security-first operating system running on a secure element chip, allows you to approve sensitive actions in a secure environment while using all your everyday apps on a single device. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261015445765/en/ Ledger has launched Ledger Atom, a security and privacy device that runs your everyday apps,
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom