EXSCIENTIA
8.7.2021 10:02:52 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Exscientia has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gates Philanthropy Partners, as part of the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. This is to expedite the optimisation of a new class of COVID-19 therapeutics created using its artificial intelligence (AI) drug design platform. Exscientia has demonstrated proof-of-concept by using its AI platform to design a novel class of inhibitors targeting the SARS-CoV-2’s main protease enzyme, Mpro , also known as 3CLpro , the causative agent of COVID-19. Mpro is essential for the replication of coronavirus, so administering an Mpro inhibitor to patients as a standalone antiviral or alongside other concurrent treatments could provide a useful frontline therapy.
Exscientia’s AI-based platform will be used to optimise the novel small molecule inhibitors into a therapeutic development candidate, designed to be active against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. The project’s goal is to identify potential pan-coronavirus therapeutics that could be effective against COVID-19, and also new mutations or other SARS viruses that may emerge.
The new grant provided by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator - an initiative launched by the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard to speed up the response to the pandemic - comes in addition to recent backing from the Gates Foundation supporting Exscientia’s work in developing treatments for tuberculosis, malaria and non-hormonal contraceptives which began in January 2021. Under the new grant, Exscientia will receive $1.5 million which will be used to advance a development candidate on achieving defined milestones. The virus protease inhibitors will be designed using Exscientia’s AI-driven drug discovery platform, which delivers optimised compounds, fulfilling complex design goals faster and more effectively than with conventional drug discovery methods.
Dr. Denise Barrault, Senior Portfolio Manager at Exscientia, commented, “The danger of new emerging strains and mutations of coronavirus means there is an urgent need for new antiviral drugs in this pandemic alongside vaccines, to respond more quickly in potential future coronavirus pandemics. We believe that the world needs innovation to accelerate the discovery of more effective counter-measures for a range of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.”
Exscientia has built a track record of improving and accelerating drug discovery by advancing the first three completely AI-designed small molecule drug candidates into clinical trials. In addition to its own proprietary programmes, Exscientia has entered into collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies including Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer, Sanofi and Dainippon Sumitomo, as well as multiple biotech companies. The company currently has more than 20 partners or wholly owned programmes for diseases involving cancer, immunology, the central nervous system, and genetic mutations.
ENDS
About Exscientia
Exscientia is an AI-driven pharmatech company 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 how drugs are created. Exscientia’s AI platform has now designed three drugs that are in Phase 1 human clinical trials.
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.
Exscientia has offices in Oxford, Miami, Osaka and Dundee. For more information visit us on www.exscientia.ai or follow us on Twitter @exscientiaAI.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210708005344/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
Interactive Brokers Expands AI Integration Capabilities – Adding ChatGPT and Grok to Its Growing Suite of Agentic Trading Tools22.6.2026 16:00:00 CEST | Press release
Additional Asset Classes Available Including Options and Futures Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global broker, today announced the expansion of its agentic trading capabilities with the addition of ChatGPT and Grok, further broadening a growing ecosystem of AI platform integrations that began with Claude. Available through certified AI connector marketplaces across multiple leading platforms, these integrations allow clients to research, analyze, and generate instructions with speed and efficiency to uncover new trading and investing opportunities instantly. With this release, Interactive Brokers also extends the selection of products available for order instructions to include support for options, futures and futures options in addition to equities and ETFs. “We continue to see growing interest from investors in using artificial intelligence as a more natural way to interact with financial markets,” said Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers. “A
IQM Named Among Quantum Collaborators in HPE's New Hybrid Quantum-HPC Platform22.6.2026 15:22:00 CEST | Press release
The collaboration will advance practical and scalable hybrid classical-quantum applications. This follows IQM's first on-premises quantum computer installation in the United States, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. IQM has sold 23 quantum systems globally to date and intends to list on Nasdaq in the United States by mid 2026. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has named IQM Quantum Computers among the companies collaborating on its hybrid classical-quantum computing platform, announced at HPE Discover Las Vegas. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260622035759/en/ IQM Radiance quantum computer at HPE Discover Las Vegas 2026 IQM, a global leader in full-stack superconducting quantum computers, is contributing superconducting quantum processor technology to the effort, in which HPE is integrating multiple quantum modalities with its Cray supercomputing infrastructure. This collaboration strengthens IQM's global expansion p
Return Abuse Goes Mainstream as Nearly Half of Consumers Use AI in Return Claims, New Riskified Research Finds22.6.2026 14:30:00 CEST | Press release
New global study shows normalization of strategic returns, widening regional differences, and rapid AI adoption reshaping ecommerce post-purchase risk Riskified (NYSE: RSKD), a global leader in ecommerce fraud detection and risk intelligence, today released a new global report, “Rewriting the Rules on Returns”, exploring how consumer attitudes and behaviors around ecommerce returns are evolving in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). The Riskified-commissioned study, conducted by eTail Insights, is based on a survey of 2,091 consumers across seven countries, alongside in-depth interviews with senior leaders from many of the largest retail companies in the world. The research finds that return abuse behaviors are increasingly normalized, while nearly half of consumers already use generative AI tools to assist with return or refund claims. At the same time, merchants are responding by tightening return policies, shortening return windows, and deploying advanced AI detection to better
Forrester Unveils Agendas For 2026 Technology & Innovation Forums In North America And EMEA22.6.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
The Forums will equip technology leaders with the capabilities needed to operationalize AI and build high-performing IT organizations that deliver measurable business outcomes Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) today announced the full conference agendas for its Technology & Innovation Forum Central (Austin, September 14–15, 2026), Technology & Innovation Forum EMEA (London, September 30–October 1, 2026), and Technology & Innovation Forum East (New York City, November 4–5, 2026). This year’s theme, “The IT Singularity,” dives into the new AI era in which AI has become ubiquitous and no longer a competitive advantage on its own. To succeed, technology leaders including chief information officers, chief data officers, and chief AI officers need to integrate AI into their operating models, modernize software development and IT operations, strengthen data and governance practices, and align technology investments with business strategy. Across the Forums, tech leaders and their teams will learn how
AdvanCell Establishes U.S. Global Headquarters and Secures Flagship Manufacturing Facility in Greater Boston to Drive Growth Strategy22.6.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New 128,000-square-foot facility in Andover will serve as U.S. global headquarters and future manufacturing center supporting the development and commercialization of ADVC001 and the Company’s pipeline of Lead-212 targeted alpha therapies Expanding U.S. operations complement the Company’s established Australian R&D and manufacturing capabilities to create a global, vertically integrated platform for radiopharmaceutical development and commercial supply AdvanCell, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing innovative targeted alpha therapies for cancer, today announced the establishment of its U.S. Global Headquarters in the Greater Boston area, and the lease of a new 128,000-square-foot facility that will become the Company’s U.S. flagship manufacturing center supporting its long-term growth and commercialization strategy. The expansion marks an important milestone in the Company’s evolution into a U.S.-based radiopharmaceutical company with integrated operations spanning
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