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
New Iconic Landmark Danjiang Bridge Opened to Redefine Taiwan18.5.2026 12:02:00 CEST | Press release
The Danjiang Bridge, one of Taiwan’s most significant recent public infrastructure projects, officially opened with a series of large-scale public events, transforming the bridge into a new cultural landmark and civic space. The program featured the “Danjiang Bridge Together Arts Festival,” immersive public activities, and a special performance of Light Chain by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, symbolizing the integration of architecture, engineering, and the arts. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260517667930/en/ The Danjiang Bridge is an iconic landmark in Taiwan with global recognition. (Photo via Highway Bureau , Motc) Spanning the mouth of the Tamsui River, the bridge serves as both a major transportation project and a recognizable architectural landmark, establishing a new urban symbol for Taiwan. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the project gained international attention throughout its development and was sel
Arboris Capital Selects ROYC to Expand Private Markets Capabilities on CapGain Platform18.5.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
Arboris Capital Limited (“Arboris”), a DIFC-based firm arranging alternative investments, authorised by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), today announced that it has selected ROYC AB (“ROYC”), a private markets technology and infrastructure provider, to support the continued development of its private markets offering through its platform, CapGain. In its ongoing efforts to expand its private markets capabilities across the Middle East, Arboris has undertaken a strategic review of how to further scale its offering while maintaining the integrity of its existing platform. As a result, Arboris has chosen to integrate ROYC’s fund access, sourcing, and structuring capabilities into CapGain, complementing its existing infrastructure. CapGain is Arboris’s proprietary investment platform, purpose-built to facilitate access between international private market opportunities and Professional Investors in the region. CapGain provides fully digital investor onboarding and KYC, a secu
OdysseyRe Announces New Co-Chief Underwriting Officers for EMEA18.5.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
Odyssey Reinsurance Company (OdysseyRe) today announced the appointments of Tegwen Gromellon and Anne-Claire Serres as co-chief underwriting officers of its EMEA division, effective July 1. They succeed longtime Chief Underwriting Officer, Gaël Le Païh, who is retiring later this year following 36 years with the Company. Based in Paris, Serres joined OdysseyRe in 2018 as the market director for France and will lead the division’s business across France, Africa and the Middle East. Gromellon, who joined OdysseyRe in 2004, has served as market director for Germany, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland since 2019. He will take the lead for the rest of Europe, including the relationship with the Company’s representative office in Stockholm for the Nordic markets and across Turkey. “We are delighted to appoint both Tegwen and Anne-Claire to these important leadership positions,” said Isabelle Dubots-Lafitte, chief executive officer of EMEA for OdysseyRe. “These appointments recognize their sign
LogicMonitor and Deutsche Telekom Expand Partnership Across Europe18.5.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
Expanded availability of LogicMonitor within Deutsche Telekom’s managed services portfolio follows successful operational use in the UKSelect outcomes include reduced reporting times and proactive incident preventionExpansion extends across DACH, Benelux, and the Nordics LogicMonitor®, the AI-first platform for Autonomous IT, today announced the expanded availability of its platform within Deutsche Telekom’s managed services portfolio across selected European markets, including DACH, Benelux, and the Nordics. The expansion builds on operational use of LogicMonitor in the United Kingdom since 2023, where it has supported Deutsche Telekom’s service teams in improving visibility across network, cloud, and hybrid infrastructure environments. Experience gained from these deployments is now informing broader service enablement across additional European markets. As enterprise IT environments grow more complex, organisations require more than visibility—they need predictive resilience. Throug
Prokarium Reports Positive Interim Data from Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial of ZH9 in NMIBC patients, Demonstrating Excellent Safety and Encouraging Early Efficacy18.5.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
ZH9 is very well tolerated with a favourable safety profile, and no dose-limiting toxicities or Grade ≥3 drug-related adverse events reported.ZH9 demonstrates 91% freedom-from-relapse in NMIBC patients who have reached study end.Company plans to run a larger phase 2 study across a range of patient populations spanning intermediate risk and high risk including CIS. Prokarium, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering bacterial immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumours, today announced safety and antitumour efficacy results from an interim review of the ongoing Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial of ZH9 in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients. These data were shared via an oral podium presentation at the American Urology Association (AUA26) Annual Meeting. Prokarium CMO, Dr Josefin-Beate Holz said “These data demonstrate ZH9 as a universally applicable treatment for patients. As the treatment is very well tolerated and is showing impactful outcomes for early a
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