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‍Highlights & Summary  

Welcome to our very first newsletter that covers the advances made by AI / ML across drug R&D, diagnostics, and the wider healthcare system. The newsletter will be published on a monthly basis and this inaugural publication predominantly focuses on the key news and events from September. 

Overall, September has been a relatively active month for deals, especially in the drug R&D space with deals led by big biopharma, most notably Eli Lilly, Merck, and Gilead in the last month. 

We hope you find this newsletter helpful and informative! Let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions 

Happy reading!

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AI in Drug Discovery  

1 | Superluminal Medicines Closes $120 Million Series A Round With Proceeds To Support Clinical Development of Lead Programs | Financing

2 | Eli Lilly and Genetic Leap Forge $409M Partnership to Advance AI-Driven RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery | Partnership

3 | Genesis Therapeutics Secures $35M Partnership with Gilead for AI-Driven Drug Development Across Three Targets | Partnership

4 | Merck, Evaxion Expand Collaboration with Infectious Disease Vaccine Pact | Partnership

5| OpenAI-backed Drug Discovery Startup Chai Discovery Introduces New AI Model Chai-1 | New Research

6 | Recursion Reports Mixed Phase 2 Results for REC-994, Raises Efficacy Concerns Amid Stock Decline | Clinical Trial

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AI in Diagnostics  

1 |  Subtle Medical Secures NIH Phase II Grant to Advance AI-Powered SubtleSYNTH™ for Enhanced MRI Brain Imaging | Financing 

2 | Imidex and Orbit Genomics Partner to Enhance Lung Cancer Detection with AI-Driven X-Ray Technology and Precision DNA Sequencing | Partnership

3 | Komodo Health Integrates Cornerstone AI Into its MapEnhance™ Offering to Deepen Volume of Real-World Insights | Partnership

4 | Dandelion Health Study Shows GLP-1 Medications May Cut Cardiovascular Risks for 44 Million At-Risk Patients Using AI Analysis | Product Launch

5 | IBM's VirtualMultiplexer: A Generative AI Tool for Synthesizing IHC Images from H&E Stains | New Research

AI in Healthcare  

1 |  Palantir and Nebraska Medicine Partner to Drive Healthcare Innovation with AI Platform | Partnership

2 | Roche Expands Digital Pathology Platform with New AI Collaborations for Enhanced Cancer Diagnostics | Product Launch 

3 | UTHealth Houston Adopts Customized ChatGPT Tool for Enhanced Clinical Training and Patient Care | Partnership

4 | Stryker Acquires care.ai to Expand Autonomous Healthcare Solutions Amid Ongoing M&A Strategy | M&A

5 | Study Shows Machine Learning Early Warning System Reduces In-Hospital Deaths | New Research

AI in Drug Discovery  

1 |  Superluminal Medicines Closes $120 Million Series A Round With Proceeds To Support Clinical Development of Lead Programs | Financing

Superluminal Medicines, a biotech firm, secured $120 million in Series A funding to advance its drug discovery programs and expand its pipeline focused on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), key targets for many drugs. The company uses a proprietary platform that integrates generative biology, chemistry, and machine learning to accelerate the creation of small molecule therapies. By modeling protein structures dynamically, Superluminal aims to tackle difficult-to-drug targets, addressing the 70% of GPCRs that remain untapped. This funding will push its lead programs into clinical development and increase efforts to create therapies for high-value membrane drug targets.

2 |  Eli Lilly and Genetic Leap Forge $409M Partnership to Advance AI-Driven RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery | Partnership

Eli Lilly has entered into a partnership with Genetic Leap, a biotech specializing in AI-driven RNA-targeted drug discovery, in a deal worth up to $409 million. Genetic Leap's platform is designed to discover new RNA targets and tackle previously undruggable ones. This partnership will focus on generating RNA-based oligonucleotide drug candidates for high-priority targets selected by Lilly. Genetic Leap joins a growing group of biotechs, including Arrakis Therapeutics, seeking to advance RNA-targeting therapies, an area once considered unsuitable for small molecule drugs due to RNA's structural challenges.

3 | Genesis Therapeutics Secures $35M Partnership with Gilead for AI-Driven Drug Development Across Three Targets | Partnership

California biotech startup Genesis Therapeutics has secured its third pharmaceutical partnership, this time with Gilead, which includes a $35 million upfront payment across three drug targets.Gilead, known for its antiviral drugs and oncology programs, did not disclose details about the specific targets or diseases involved in the partnership. Genesis, which raised $200 million last year and has a total of over $300 million in funding, is focused on using AI to design and improve small molecule drug candidates. Genesis’s AI platform, GEMS, leverages advanced models to optimize drug properties. Its lead program is aimed at developing a PIK3CA inhibitor that selectively targets cancer-associated mutations while minimizing toxicity to healthy cells. 

4 | Merck Partners with Evaxion on AI-Designed Vaccines in $592M+ Deal to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections | Partnership

Merck has signed an option and license agreement with Evaxion Biotech for two AI-designed vaccine candidates, enhancing their collaboration. The deal includes an initial payment of $3.2 million, with potential milestones reaching up to $592 million per program, plus royalties if the candidates progress. Merck will take full responsibility for clinical development, and the specific trial designs will depend on their strategic goals for the vaccines. Evaxion's AI-Immunology platform informs vaccine development by identifying promising antigens, with the focus on addressing rising antibiotic resistance in diseases like gonorrhea.

5 | OpenAI-backed Drug Discovery Startup Chai Discovery Introduces New AI Model Chai-1 | New Research

Chai Discovery recently secured $30 million in funding from OpenAI, Thrive Capital, and Dimension Capital to advance its drug discovery efforts. The startup launched Chai-1, an AI model that predicts molecular structures and is available for free and open-source for non-commercial use. Chai-1 reportedly outperforms Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold in specific benchmarks, particularly in predicting interactions between proteins and small molecules. This development highlights the potential of AI in pharmaceutical applications, paving the way for faster treatments for major diseases.

6 | Recursion Reports Mixed Phase 2 Results for REC-994, Raises Efficacy Concerns Amid Stock Decline | Clinical Trial
Recursion has reported mixed results from its first Phase 2 trial of REC-994 for symptomatic cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM), achieving its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability but lacking strong efficacy data. While MRI scans indicated a trend toward reduced lesion volume in the high-dose group, there were no significant improvements in patient-reported outcomes or physician measures after 12 months. Following the trial results, Recursion's stock price fell about 10% to approximately $6.55, reflecting broader concerns, as the stock has plummeted nearly 80% since its IPO in 2021. Looking ahead, the company anticipates about 10 additional readouts in the next 18 months, but doubts persist regarding the efficacy and relevance of its pipeline, especially since its lead programs do not leverage the latest AI technologies.

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AI in Diagnostics  

1 | Subtle Medical Secures NIH Phase II Grant to Advance AI-Powered SubtleSYNTH™ for Enhanced MRI Brain Imaging | Financing 

Subtle Medical has secured Phase II funding from the NIH SBIR grant to expand its AI-driven SubtleSYNTH™ technology, focusing on brain imaging. This follows the technology's recent FDA clearance for generating synthetic STIR images (SynthSTIRs) for spinal imaging, offering zero acquisition time while maintaining clinical quality. The Phase II funding will help extend the platform’s capabilities to improve MRI efficiency and accuracy, addressing workflow challenges in imaging institutions. The company aims to use the grant to push the boundaries of medical imaging, further enhancing the speed and quality of MRI procedures.

2 |  Imidex and Orbit Genomics Partner to Enhance Lung Cancer Detection with AI-Driven X-Ray Technology and Precision DNA Sequencing | Partnership

Imidex, an AI-driven lung nodule detection company, and Orbit Genomics, a pioneer in precision DNA sequencing, have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at improving lung cancer detection and outcomes. Imidex's FDA-cleared VisiRad XR technology uses chest x-rays to identify lung nodules in a broad population, offering an accessible alternative to low-dose CT scans, which are underutilized in the U.S. Orbit Genomics will complement this by using its OrbiSeq-L blood test to diagnose lung cancer in patients identified by Imidex's system. This partnership aims to enhance early detection, guiding patients to timely, personalized care and improving survival rates.

3 | Komodo Health Integrates Cornerstone AI’s Data Cleaning Software to Enhance Lab Data Quality and Healthcare Insights | Partnership

Cornerstone AI has announced that Komodo Health will integrate its AI-driven data cleaning software into Komodo's MapEnhance offering after a successful pilot. In the pilot, Cornerstone's algorithms enhanced the standardization of raw data for Komodo's Lab Results, improving the quality of insights used by customers for clinical trial design, drug safety monitoring, and identifying new drug indications. Komodo’s General Manager of MapEnhance praised Cornerstone’s solution for improving the fidelity of lab data. The integration will help Komodo offer richer, more precise healthcare insights to its customers, accelerating research and innovation in life sciences.

4 | Dandelion Health Study Shows GLP-1 Medications May Cut Cardiovascular Risks for 44 Million At-Risk Patients Using AI Analysis | Product Launch

Dandelion Health has revealed results from a large-scale study demonstrating the potential of GLP-1 medications to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) for 44 million previously unstudied at-risk patients. Using AI from its newly launched Clinical AI Marketplace, Dandelion analyzed real-world data to explore the cardioprotective benefits of GLP-1s in a broader population than those included in traditional clinical trials. The study found that GLP-1s could lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) by 15%-20% over three years, potentially preventing 34,000 heart attacks and strokes annually. Dandelion's platform aims to offer faster, cost-effective research using multimodal data, helping life sciences companies accelerate drug development and improve patient outcomes.

5 | IBM's VirtualMultiplexer: A Generative AI Tool for Synthesizing IHC Images from H&E Stains | New Research

In their article in Nature Machine Intelligence, Pushpak Pati and Maria Anna Rapsomaniki from IBM Research Europe present the VirtualMultiplexer, a generative AI toolkit that creates multiplexed immunohistochemistry (IHC) images from standard hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) images. This toolkit generates high-quality staining patterns without the need for extensive annotations or image registration, thereby streamlining histopathology workflows. Evaluations indicate that the synthesized images closely resemble real IHC images, enhancing the reliability of clinical predictions. By reducing tissue consumption and the need for multiple sections, VirtualMultiplexer addresses key challenges in traditional histopathology and highlights AI's potential in cancer research.

AI in Healthcare  

1 |  Palantir and Nebraska Medicine Partner to Drive Healthcare Innovation with AI Platform | Partnership

Palantir Technologies and Nebraska Medicine have announced a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract to deploy Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) to enhance healthcare innovation. In under a year, Nebraska Medicine has implemented over ten AIP-powered applications, improving patient throughput, optimizing claims reimbursements, and monitoring patient care. Early results include a 2000% increase in Discharge Lounge utilization and faster discharge times, as well as over 1,200 AI-powered appeal letters sent to payors. The partnership aims to further transform Nebraska Medicine’s operations and set a model for healthcare innovation across the industry.

2 |  Roche Expands Digital Pathology Platform with New AI Collaborations for Enhanced Cancer Diagnostics | Product Launch 

Roche has expanded its Digital Pathology Open Environment by integrating over 20 AI algorithms from eight new collaborators. These collaborations, accessible through Roche's navify® Digital Pathology enterprise software, aim to enhance cancer research and diagnostics by providing pathologists with AI-driven tools for better precision medicine and targeted treatments. The algorithms focus on a range of cancers, including breast, lung, and colorectal, offering insights such as tumor grading, biomarker quantification, and risk profiling. This expansion underscores Roche's commitment to advancing personalized healthcare and improving patient outcomes through innovative AI-based pathology solutions.

3 | UTHealth Houston Adopts Customized ChatGPT Tool for Enhanced Clinical Training and Patient Care | Partnership

UTHealth Houston has partnered with OpenAI to deploy their ChatGPT Education Tool in both clinical training and at the patient’s bedside. This new tool maintains the same capabilities as the publicly-available ChatGPT tool, with a handful of additional features (e.g., for security, privacy, and customization); importantly, UTHealth Houston’s specially-configured ChatGPT tool is HIPAA and FERPA compliant to protect patient data. This tool may be used in the clinical setting as a “co-pilot” by prompting clinicians to ask certain questions. Alternatively, this tool may be used on the backend for patient appointment scheduling and streamlining other administrative processes. UTHealth Houston believes this tool will ultimately help facilitate research activities, as well as drive overall innovation in their healthcare ecosystem. 

4 | Stryker Acquires care.ai to Expand Autonomous Healthcare Solutions Amid Ongoing M&A Strategy | M&A
Stryker has acquired care.ai, a smart hospital systems developer, to boost patient care amid staffing shortages. Andy Pierce, president of Stryker’s medical surgical and neurotechnology group, stated that the acquisition will advance Stryker's healthcare IT vision with real-time tools for caregivers and patients. This builds on Stryker's $3 billion purchase of Vocera Communications, enhancing its autonomous monitoring solutions. Stryker also recently acquired Artelon and Molli Surgical, with CEO Kevin Lobo indicating more deals are likely through 2024, driven by strong demand and a robust backlog.

5 | Study Shows Machine Learning Early Warning System Reduces In-Hospital Deaths | New Research

This study evaluated a machine learning early warning system for patient deterioration at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto from November 2020 to June 2022. Non-palliative in-hospital deaths dropped from 2.1% to 1.6%, and alerts for high-risk patients decreased from 10.3% to 7.1%. These results align with a previous study using the AI tool Chartwatch, which found a 26% reduction in unexpected deaths, highlighting the potential of machine learning to improve patient safety.

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