Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company Debiopharm has announced a strategic collaboration with San Diego’s ThinkingNodeLife.ai, utilizing the latter’s artificial intelligence digital cells lab platform to enhance the development of precision cancer drugs. The partnership aims to leverage ThinkingNodeLife.ai’s generative distributed reasoning AI, a distinct approach from conventional machine learning-based systems. This technology focuses on human-like reasoning, integrating data and profound domain knowledge to create models for human cells, known as human digital clones, using gene-expression data.
Within the collaboration, ThinkingNodeLife.ai and Debiopharm will work together on various aspects of cancer drug development. These include exploring new indications for existing cancer drugs, identifying opportunities for combining agents with other therapies, comparing treatment activities, validating drug mechanisms, and pinpointing predictive biomarkers. Debiopharm’s drug development pipeline encompasses several investigational oncology treatments, such as CA IX-targeted radiotherapy Debio 0228, IAP antagonist xevinapant (Debio 1143) for head and neck cancer, and Wee1 kinase inhibitor Debio 0123.
Debiopharm has recently initiated a Phase I/II trial for Debio 0228 in patients with CA IX-expressing solid tumors. The company has also entered collaborations with SunRock Biopharma and Nucleai to advance antibody-drug conjugates for cancer treatment and identify biomarkers for optimal responses to clinical-stage oncology assets, respectively. The integration of ThinkingNodeLife.ai’s advanced AI technology is expected to bolster Debiopharm’s efforts in precision medicine and targeted cancer therapies.