StemoniX, Inc. and Atomwise Inc. today announced a joint venture that combines StemoniX’s human microOrgan® platform with Atomwise’s AI technology to enable the rapid discovery and development of novel small molecule therapies.
| MAPLE GROVE, Minn. and SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- StemoniX, Inc. and Atomwise Inc. today announced a joint venture that combines StemoniX’s human microOrgan® platform with Atomwise’s AI technology to enable the rapid discovery and development of novel small molecule therapies. The joint venture will initially target Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disease.
Rett syndrome is a severe neurological disorder due to mutations in the MECP2 gene. The disorder often manifests in infant girls and results in impairment of intellectual and motor development, seizures, and loss of speech. There is no known cure for Rett syndrome. StemoniX is a leader in developing models for specific diseases via its microOrgan platform, the world’s first ready-to-use assay plates containing living microtissues engineered from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Atomwise is the leader in using artificial intelligence (AI) for small molecule drug discovery. In the joint venture, Atomwise will use its AI technology to analyze billions of compounds to identify potent and selective binders for proteins that are important for Rett syndrome. StemoniX will test the compounds on its human microBrain® 3D disease model of Rett syndrome to determine biological efficacy. Traditional drug discovery and early drug development require thousands of research hours and millions of dollars to identify a potential therapeutic for clinical development. Despite the time and expense, the vast majority of potential drugs – 90% – ultimately fail in the clinic. The high costs and high failure rate often make it infeasible to pursue drug discovery and development for rare diseases. It is especially challenging for rare neurological diseases due to the complexity of human brain function, which is not well replicated in animal models. Next generation technologies, such as AI and human microOrgans, have the potential to transform the speed of drug discovery. The combination of AI with human microOrgans can reduce both time and cost while increasing the chance of clinical success by focusing on only those compounds with novel chemical structures that are predicted to be most effective in a relevant human system. Streamlined efforts with faster development times and lower failure rates are critical for the discovery of new therapies for patients with rare and challenging neurological diseases such as Rett syndrome. “The joint venture brings together the complementary technologies of StemoniX and Atomwise, creating an opportunity to go from model to molecule to validated drug in a fraction of the time and cost required with traditional methods,” said Ping Yeh, StemoniX Co-founder and CEO. “Atomwise is a great partner for a notoriously challenging disease area. Their expertise will enable drug discovery on historically undruggable targets and provide new opportunities for treating rare neurological diseases.” “New technologies and approaches are vital to address the needs of patients,” said Abraham Heifets, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Atomwise. “StemoniX has made remarkable progress with their microBrain 3D platform and its application to Rett syndrome. It is a potentially powerful tool to rapidly evaluate compound efficacy and assess their suitability for clinical trials, and we are excited to partner with them.” About StemoniX About Atomwise StemoniX Investor Contact: StemoniX Media Contact: Atomwise Media Contact:
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