Harnessing the Power of AI to Speed Drug Discovery and Development

Drugs that treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders take 20 percent longer to develop than other drugs, according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development^[i]. But with 700 million people worldwide impacted by mental and neurological disorders^[ii], the need for new and innovative therapies is urgent. Artificial intelligence (AI), with its vast computational power, predictive analytics and ability to rapidly sift through drug-discovery data, could help speed the discovery of new therapies and offer relief to people impacted by brain disorders.

That is why Lundbeck is partnering with Numerate, Inc., a San Francisco-based data-driven drug design company that applies AI algorithms to drug discovery. Lundbeck and Numerate recently announced a multi-target research collaboration to identify clinical candidates for the treatment of CNS disorders, including depression, psychosis, seizure and neurodegenerative disorders.

Numerate’s AI drug-design platform combines advances in computer science and statistics with traditional medicinal chemistry approaches to accelerate candidate selection and optimization. Numerate’s platform could help predict the toxicity, as well as absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of compounds – which is critical for both efficient CNS trials and better patient outcomes.

“We believe the AI-platform Numerate has developed will help overcome current drug design challenges to identify chemistries for 'undruggable' targets that Lundbeck can develop into breakthrough medicines for patients with psychiatric and neurological disorders,” said Klaus Bæk Simonsen, VP Molecular Discovery and Innovation of Lundbeck, in an announcement about the collaboration.

Harnessing the Power of AI to Speed Drug Discovery and Development

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