Abu Dhabi, May 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Insilico Medicine, a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, has appointed Michael Bayewitch, PhD, as Vice President (VP) of Business Development and Strategy. Based on the U.S. West Coast, Dr. Bayewitch will work closely with Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO, Feng Ren, PhD, Co–CEO and CSO, and Michelle Chen, PhD, Chief Business Officer. He is responsible for driving business development activities and developing attainable operation strategies to support Insilico's continued growth.

Dr. Bayewitch is an accomplished industry veteran with more than 22 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including in due diligence and in/out–licensing transactions, focusing on oncology, autoimmune diseases, and respiratory diseases. Prior to Insilico Medicine, he worked for international mid– and large–size pharmaceutical companies including ITI Life Sciences, Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., and EOC Pharma, and most recently served as Executive Director of International Business Development for Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, where he performed opportunity identification, analysis, and forecast resulting in multiple licensing deals.

"As we witness the rapid development of the pharmaceutical industry and the dramatic innovation of AI technology, Insilico sees increasing demand for internal staff as more pipelines are entering the clinical stage," said Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. "In this promising and challenging year for Insilico, we look forward to accelerated growth supported by Dr. Bayewitch's combined expertise."

Having graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Microbiology, Dr. Bayewitch continued his studies at Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot. He subsequently worked as a post–doctoral research associate at Salk Institute, where he focused on myelin specific proteins.

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next–generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging–related diseases. In early 2023, the Company opened the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Centre in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center. The R&D hub brings together global talent in artificial intelligence and software development to expand the capabilities of Insilico's end–to–end AI–driven drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, explore aging research and sustainable chemistry, and support the digital transformation of healthcare in the region.

For more information, visit www.insilico.com

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• Michael Bayewitch, PhD

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Abu Dhabi, May 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Insilico Medicine, a generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, announced that Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of the Company, will attend the PEGS Boston Summit from May 15–19. He will deliver a keynote presentation on "The State of the Science in Disease Modeling Across Diverse Indications" on May 15 at 11AM at the Hynes Convention Center and join in an interactive discussion on May 15 at 12:45PM.

In his presentation, Dr. Zhavoronkov will make the first announcement of peptide–based drug design strategies and Generative Biologics, a new engine that belongs to the company's end–to–end AI–driven drug discovery platform Pharma.AI that leverages hundreds of millions of biological data points, machine learning algorithms, and generative biology models to build and design polypeptides from scratch.

A team of expert scientists are developing Pharma.AI at the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Center in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center.

"We are at an exciting moment in the history of generative AI in drug discovery," says Zhavoronkov. "Thanks to years of accumulated data and technological advances in generative AI, we can find targets and design new small molecules for hard–to–treat diseases with incredible speed and efficiency working in close partnership with pharmaceutical companies. We look forward to using generative AI to explore diverse drug development strategies."

Insilico Medicine was one of the first companies to use generative adversarial autoencoders for de–novo drug discovery. In 2016, the Company introduced the earliest iternation of its generative biology tool for identifying novel targets with a publication in Nature Communications. Another publication followed in Oncotarget, demonstrating how Insilico could employ generative algorithms with reinforcement learning to design novel small molecules with predefined and optimized properties. By 2018, Insilico integrated generative biology and chemistry approaches into the commercially available Pharma.AI platform that accelerates the process of lead discovery from years to days, and is currently being utilized by 11 of 20 top pharmaceutical companies.

The Company has also utilized the platform to develop its own robust pipeline of assets, including two drugs "" for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and COVID–19 "" currently in clinical trials and many potentially best–in–class and first–in–class assets in preclinical stages of development available for licensing. In total, Insilico has 31 programs across 29 targets, including in fibrosis, oncology, immunology, and central nervous system disorders.

Zhavoronkov says PEGS, the world's largest gathering of protein engineering and biotherapeutics experts, is the perfect setting for announcing the latest developments to Insilico's platform. "We were instrumental in the early development of generative biology and generative chemistry, and now we're advancing AI–designed drugs into clinical trials. It is truly a pivotal moment."

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next–generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging–related diseases. In early 2023, the Company opened the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Centre in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center. The R&D hub brings together global talent in artificial intelligence and software development to expand the capabilities of Insilico's end–to–end AI–driven drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, explore aging research and sustainable chemistry, and support the digital transformation of healthcare in the region.

For more information, visit www.insilico.com

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• Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD presents at PEGS

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Abu Dhabi, May 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Insilico Medicine, a generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, announced that it is releasing a course on Disease Modeling and Target Identification, available for free. Through seven lectures, the course guides participants through the latest insights in disease modeling and target discovery "" critical areas in biomedical research that involve using computational and experimental approaches to gain insights into the causes of diseases and identify potential targets for drug development.

The course uses case studies to illustrate the practical application of the concepts covered. In particular, learners will have the opportunity to explore a demo version of PandaOmics, Insilico Medicine's generative AI tool for target discovery, which is being developed by a team of scientists at the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Center in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center.

PandaOmics is used by numerous pharmaceutical companies and to develop the 31 pharmaceutical assets advancing in Insilico's own pipeline "" including two drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and COVID–19 currently in clinical trials.

After completing the course, participants will gain: .

• in–depth knowledge of the challenges and opportunities in drug target discovery, including the emerging role of AI, achievements, and failures of pharma companies in recent years and the most promising therapeutic areas;
• practical skills in identifying and evaluating potential drug targets, including familiarity with several popular tools and resources;
• knowledge of the latest trends and emerging topics in target discovery, such as the use of large language models and the evolution of the druggable genome concept;
• exposure to several case studies that illustrate the practical application of the concepts covered, and the ability to critically evaluate and compare different target discovery strategies.

The course is geared toward anyone interested in drug discovery, biomedical research, and healthcare innovation, including researchers, scientists, pharmaceutical professionals and students pursuing a degree in molecular biology, chemistry, or related fields who want to see how fundamental science can be applied to the development of novel therapeutics.

"This course aligns with our larger mission to accelerate the discovery and development of new therapeutics by making technological breakthroughs accessible to all scientists, including students, who might be interested in pursuing AI drug discovery," says Insilico Medicine founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, who is one of the course instructors.

Insilico has supported young researchers in using its platform before. Three high school researchers used PandaOmics to uncover new targets for glioblastoma and aging, the results of which were recently published in the journal Aging. And Insilico has been a supporter of the Youth Longevity Association and annually sponsors young scientists to attend the Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference in Copenhagen, a signature event that Zhavoronkov cofounded.

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next–generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging–related diseases. In early 2023, the Company opened the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Centre in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center. The R&D hub brings together global talent in artificial intelligence and software development to expand the capabilities of Insilico's end–to–end AI–driven drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, explore aging research and sustainable chemistry, and support the digital transformation of healthcare in the region.

For more information, visit www.insilico.com

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• Disease Modeling and Target Identification Course from Insilico Medicine
• Course Covers Topics in AI Target Discovery

GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8838367)

Abu Dhabi, May 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Three high school students "" Andrea Olsen from Oslo, Norway; Zachary Harpaz from Boca Raton, Florida; and Chris Ren from Shanghai, China "" co–authored a paper using a generative artificial intelligence (AI) engine for target discovery from Insilico Medicine ("Insilico") called PandaOmics to identify new therapeutic targets for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is the most aggressive and common malignant brain tumor, accounting for 16% of all primary brain tumors. The findings were published on April 26 in the journal Aging.

Much of the technology behind PandaOmics is being developed in Insilico's Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Center in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center.

Olsen, a student at Sevenoaks School in Kent, UK, began interning at Insilico Medicine in 2021, after discovering her interest in neurobiology and technology. For the current paper, the fifth scientific paper she has co–authored before turning eighteen, she and other researchers used PandaOmics to screen datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus repository maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information and found new therapeutic targets implicated for treating both aging and glioblastoma multiforme.

Ren, a student at Shanghai High School International Division, has an interest in biology and biomarkers and joined them in the summer of 2022.

While there would seem to be a clear connection between aging and cancer, Olsen says their findings were more nuanced. "Sometimes, instead of aging, the body switches to cancer mechanisms, which was really interesting to discover." She hypothesized that "the body is trying to preserve itself in a way that it is switching back to embryonic processes of cell division." GBM is caused by a genetic mutation that leads to uncontrolled growth of glial cells, or cells that surround neurons in the brain. Even with existing therapies, the median survival for GBM patients is only 15 months.

Harpaz, a student at Pine Crest School in Ft. Lauderdale, had an early interest in computer science and AI and soon developed a passion for biology as well. "I wanted to combine my two favorite topics, computer science and biology, into what I think is the most interesting field of biology – aging research," Harpaz says. He discovered generative AI drug discovery company Insilico Medicine whose founder and CEO, Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, connected him with Olsen. The two young researchers began collaborating on the glioblastoma project and ultimately presented findings at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) conference in Copenhagen, where they together launched the Youth Longevity Association (TYLA).

In this latest paper, the three teens used PandaOmics to analyze the genes and identified three that were strongly correlated with both aging and glioblastoma and could serve as potential therapeutic targets for new drugs.

"We selected the genes that were overlapped to be highly correlated in 11 of the 12 datasets, and we split our data into young, middle aged, and senior groups," said Harpaz. "We mapped this to the importance of the gene expression to survival." After identifying two genetic targets for glioblastoma and aging "" CNGA3 and GLUD1 "" they cross–referenced their findings with earlier findings from Insilico around genes strongly correlated with aging and identified a third target "" SIRT1.

"I learned a lot about conducting a research project," said Ren, who helped review the three targets. "The PandaOmics platform really made the project accessible to me. As a high school sophomore, I did not have sufficient experience for advanced research and analysis, however, I was still able to navigate the PandaOmics platform after a brief period of training to process and compare datasets of glioblastoma."

The students say they are eager to continue their studies in AI and biology into college and to move the GBM research forward from target discovery to drug development.

"The best way to take this research further is going to be using Insilico's Chemistry42 software, where we can take the targets we identified through PandaOmics and generate small molecules, potential drugs, with these targets that have the potential to treat glioblastoma and aging at the same time," says Harpaz.

Prior to her internship at Insilico, Olsen says: "I never knew that AI could be so helpful in finding completely new therapeutic targets. For me, that was an incredible opportunity to dive into the field of research, aging, longevity, and neuroscience. It really kick–started my entire career."

"I am truly impressed by the commitment of these young researchers," says Zhavoronkov. "I hope their work will inspire other young people excited about science and technology to look at how they can use AI tools to discover new targets and treatments for both aging and disease."

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next–generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging–related diseases. In early 2023, the Company opened the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Centre in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center. The R&D hub brings together global talent in artificial intelligence and software development to expand the capabilities of Insilico's end–to–end AI–driven drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, explore aging research and sustainable chemistry, and support the digital transformation of healthcare in the region.

For more information, visit www.insilico.com

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• Students Use Insilico Medicine's AI Platform to Find Targets for Glioblastoma and Aging

GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8829593)

Abu Dhabi, April 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company which operates the largest AI–powered biotech R&D center in the Middle East, announced that it has successfully discovered a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CDK8 for the treatment of cancer using a structure–based generative chemistry approach enabled by the Chemistry42 generative reinforcement learning platform. The research was published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, a leading journal in medicinal chemistry.

As members of the CDK family, CDK8 and its paralog protein CDK19 play critical roles in regulating transcription of many different signaling pathways involved in oncogenic control. Deregulation of CDK8/19 has been implicated as a driving force in many human cancers, particularly in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and advanced solid tumors. Moreover, CDK8/19 is also involved in immune modulation. Targeting CDK8/19 could enhance NK cell cytotoxicity and stimulate NK cell–mediated tumor surveillance. Therefore, targeting CDK8/19 is regarded as a promising strategy with a two–in–one mechanism of action that not only inhibits tumor cell growth, but also increases immune cell activity.

The research published by Insilico was supported by its generative chemistry engine, Chemistry42, which is built on years of modeling and pre–training of large biological, chemical and textual datasets. Chemistry42 includes 42 generative engines and more than 500 predictive engines for scoring which allows researchers to generate molecules with desired properties from scratch using deep learning technologies through structure–based drug design (SBDD) and ligand–based drug design (LBDD).

In this study, scientists described the process of using the SBDD module of Chemistry42 to generate a key anchor linker and identify the hit compound targeting CDK8. Over several optimization cycles, R&D scientists further improved in vitro metabolic stability, kinase selectivity, and in vivo pharmacokinetic profile cross–species, leading to the discovery of one potent, selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of CDK8, which was evaluated in in vivo efficacy studies and demonstrated robust tumor growth inhibition in multiple in vivo efficacy models.

In addition to the published molecule, Insilico scientists are progressing with another AI–generated CDK8 inhibitor with a novel structure. Insilico is open to potential partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to co–develop the drug candidate.

"At Insilico, we encourage scientists to share their innovative insights in AI–driven drug discovery with the industry by publishing peer–reviewed papers," said Feng Ren, PhD, Co–CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine. "In this case, we have not only discovered a novel compound for a promising target, but also provided innovative practices in early drug discovery supported by generative AI."

Insilico has pioneered applying multiple generative approaches for drug design in both generative chemistry and generative biology and published the first paper in generative chemistry. The company then submitted the relevant patents on applying these generative approaches for chemistry and biology, and integrated these approaches into the commercially available Pharma.AI platform, which includes PandaOmics a system utilizing multiple predictive and generative biology models; a generative chemistry engine, Chemistry42; and a clinical trial outcomes prediction engine InClinico, which utilizes a combination of omics–based predictors and text–based transformers. Powered by generative AI, Insilico is delivering breakthroughs for healthcare in multiple disease areas. The lead program targeting fibrosis–driven diseases has completed Phase 0 and Phase I clinical trials and received positive Phase I topline data and Orphan Drug Designation.

"We described the concept of using generative AI for the design of novel molecules in a peer–reviewed journal in 2016 for the first time. Later, we developed multiple approaches and new features for our GAN–based AI platform for drug design. We also started patenting our findings so that ,in some areas, patents preceded publications. Some of my favorite patents combine generative chemistry and generative biology," said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. "I am excited to see that with the support of generative AI, we have achieved several industry milestones and advanced the drug candidates discovered by generative AI to the clinical stage. In 2022 alone, we nominated 9 preclinical candidates utilizing generative AI. We are committed to refining our approach and tools to reshape the future of healthcare by generative innovation."

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical–stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)–driven drug discovery company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next–generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging–related diseases. In early 2023, the Company opened the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Centre in Abu Dhabi, the region's largest AI–powered biotechnology research center. The R&D hub brings together global talent in artificial intelligence and software development to expand the capabilities of Insilico's end–to–end AI–driven drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, explore aging research and sustainable chemistry, and support the digital transformation of healthcare in the region. www.insilico.com

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• Generative AI–Produced Inhibitor of CDK8

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