Collaboration will harness AI technology to address an aging-related target

 

NOVATO, US -- August 14 , 2018 -  The Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Insilico Medicine, and Juvenescence Ltd announced today that they have formed Napa Therapeutics, Ltd to develop drugs against a novel aging-related target.

 

The Buck Institute is one of the leading research centers in the world focused solely on research on aging and the elimination of age-related disease. Insilico Medicine is an AI company focused on a range of verticals devoted to aging. 

 

Insilico Medicine stands to earn more than $100M in milestone payments should the program be successful. Juvenescence is a company focused on developing drugs to modify aging and the diseases of aging.

 

Napa Therapeutics is based on groundbreaking research in NAD metabolism conducted in the lab of  Eric Verdin, MD, President and CEO of the Buck Institute.

 

The Verdin lab will collaborate with Napa, using Insilico's drug development engine to speed the discovery of new compounds.  "This is a unique opportunity to use cutting-edge AI to accelerate drug discovery," said Dr. Verdin. "The Buck is excited to join forces with Insilico and Juvenescence as we work to eliminate the threat of age-related disease for this and future generations."

 

"I am most excited by this model and the ability to combine the quality science of the Buck Institute with the remarkable deep learning engine at Insilico Medicine. To me this is another big step in the evolving process of using AI with HI (human intelligence) to extract the best of both systems,"  said Gregory Bailey, MD, CEO of Juvenescence. "Napa Therapeutics lets Juvenescence deepen our collaboration with the Buck Institute and with Insilico Medicine. We hope to shorten the time required to identify molecules that can be brought to the clinic and most importantly help patients."

 

"We are very happy to partner with the Buck Institute and Juvenescence around a very promising set of targets in a pathway overlooked by the pharmaceutical industry. Aging research is among the most altruistic causes that will improve and extend the lives of everyone on the planet and reduce the pain and suffering associated with the age-associated diseases.  However, in order to scale, our efforts must become sustainable and provide reasonable returns to investors. If successful, Insilico Medicine alone stands to earn in excess of $100 million in milestone payment from this deal", said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. (MO).