ExaWizards Co., Ltd.
ExaWizards achieves results in AI drug discovery with Daiichi Sankyo, identifying hit compounds for difficult target proteins in a short period of time
~Building an efficient workflow that combines AI technology and structure-based drug discovery, achieving compound selection in two months through ultra-large-scale screening~
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ExaWizards Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Makoto Haruta, hereinafter referred to as ExaWizards) has partnered with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Hiroyuki Okusawa, hereinafter referred to as Daiichi Sankyo). We would like to inform you that we have achieved results in a joint drug discovery project using AI. We were able to obtain a high-quality hit compound for a highly difficult target among disease-causing target proteins. The two companies began a joint development project to realize data-driven drug discovery in 2019, and will begin a hit compound creation project in 2023.
[Image: https://prtimes.jp/i/30192/235/resize/d30192-235-a2140b9c90c2f5f5ce80-0.png&s3=30192-235-d11a7ca80279757583dabf4c7a551fec-1200×630.png ]
ExaWizards aims to solve social issues in the health and medical fields by utilizing AI to support drug discovery, develop medical device programs, and services for consumers and patients.
☑︎ What we achieved this time ExaWizards has built a new drug discovery approach that combines AI technology and structure-based drug discovery (SBDD*1) and proven its usefulness. In this project, we conducted ultra-large virtual screening*2 to efficiently find potential hit compounds from a group of approximately 6 billion compounds. As a result, we succeeded in narrowing down and selecting approximately 400 promising compounds for target proteins for which it had been difficult to obtain high-quality hit compounds in the short period of about two months from the start of virtual screening. Among the selected compounds, results were obtained that showed good activity as a hit compound, with the concentration (IC50) required to inhibit the reaction (activity) of a specific protein by 50% being below the set criteria. It was done. Research on these compounds continues at Daiichi Sankyo.
*1 SBDD: Structure-Based Drug Design *2 A method of narrowing down compounds that can exhibit good activity from a large number of compounds using computers. Traditionally, high-throughput screening, in which tens of thousands to millions of compounds are experimentally evaluated, has been the mainstream.
☑︎Strengths of ExaWizards and Daiichi Sankyo The success of this project was achieved as a result of combining the strengths of ExaWizards’ AI engineers and Daiichi Sankyo’s researchers, and their complementary interactions. . In addition to the AI technology developed by ExaWizards engineers, we have built a workflow that combines docking simulation to simulate interactions between compounds and proteins, and we have developed unique technologies for designing and implementing annotations to describe the properties of compounds in detail. The knowledge and technical capabilities were combined with the deep domain knowledge of pharmaceuticals possessed by Daiichi Sankyo researchers. Based on the knowledge and trust that ExaWizards and Daiichi Sankyo have built together since the start of their collaboration in 2019, a new approach to drug discovery will be established by combining AI and data utilization technology with pharmaceutical expertise. . We have created a method to search for compounds faster and more efficiently.
(Reference) AI venture company ExaWizards starts a joint development project with Daiichi Sankyo to realize data-driven drug discovery in the small molecule field https://exawizards.com/archives/6012/ ☑︎Future policy Based on these results, both companies will continue to conduct joint research on multiple target proteins, accumulate further successful examples, and strive to create innovative medicines. ExaWizards aims to contribute to efficient drug development by continuing to develop and improve AI technology and promoting data-driven drug discovery research using this technology. Through cooperation between the two companies, we will contribute to the acceleration of pharmaceutical research by establishing and
strengthening new approaches to drug discovery and creating new methods for faster and more efficient compound discovery.
☑︎ExaWizards’ efforts in the medical and healthcare field ExaWizards collaborates with AI/machine learning engineers, business development members, system development and operation engineers, etc. to solve problems in each department and company-wide of companies in diverse industries. We are working on the “AI platform business” to support and implement more than 300 AI/DX projects annually. In the medical healthcare field of our AI platform business, we support data-driven drug discovery, new businesses through product services, and real-world data utilization in partnership with our customers. In February 2024, we established a new company that will be involved in the development and sales of programmed medical device programs (SaMD: Software as Medical Device). (Reference) ExaWizards establishes new company “ExaMD” to provide AI services specialized in health and medical fields ~ Develops software medical equipment using mobile devices, first step is dementia diagnosis ~ https://
exawizards.com/archives/26612/
[ExaWizards Co., Ltd. Company Profile] Company name: ExaWizards Co., Ltd. (stock code 4259) Location: 5th floor, Sumitomo Fudosan Sanda Twin Building East Building, 4-2-8 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Established: February 2016 Representative: Representative President and CEO Haruta Business details: Industrial innovation and solving social issues through service development utilizing AI URL:
https://exawizards.com/
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