Chinese biopharmaceutical company Innovent Biologics has forged a partnership with WeComput to advance its artificial intelligence (AI) driven drug discovery and development platform.
The collaboration aims to enhance the construction and functionality of Innovent Biologics’ Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery platform by leveraging the strengths and technologies of both organisations.
Innovent Academy, the research and development (R&D) arm of Innovent Biologics, has been actively involved in integrating AI into drug research. As part of this partnership, Innovent Academy will utilise WeComput’s WeMol, a molecular design platform, to improve its computing infrastructure, thereby accelerating the drug development process.
Concurrently, WeMol will incorporate NVIDIA’s BioNeMo technology to boost the computational capabilities of Innovent Biologics’ AI systems and enhance computational efficiency.
Innovent Biologics oncology biology and ADC drug research vice president Kaijie He said: “AI is injecting new momentum into the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries. We are excited to partner with WeComput and integrate advanced AI technology to boost our R&D capabilities and expedite the discovery and development of innovative drugs.
“We believe this collaboration will offer robust technical support to our research team, propelling us toward greater breakthroughs in the global pharmaceutical market.”
WeComput, a subsidiary of Beijing Zhongda Weixin Technology, specialises in combining AI, biophysics, and high-performance computing to create a digital and automated platform for drug molecule design and simulation.
WeComput CEO Harry (Hu) Ge said: “This collaboration will be mutually beneficial, fostering the widespread application of AI technology in the biopharmaceutical sector and driving innovation and development in the global pharmaceutical industry.”
The integration of technological resources from both Innovent and WeMol is expected to streamline the AI-driven drug discovery process, reduce implementation costs, shorten the R&D cycle, and enhance the success rate of drug development, ultimately delivering more treatment options to patients.
Recently, Innovent Biologics announced that the second Phase 3 trial of mazdutide in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes met both the primary and all key secondary endpoints.
The company intends to submit a new drug application (NDA) for mazdutide as a treatment for type 2 diabetes to the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in the near future. This follows the acceptance of its first NDA for chronic weight management in February 2024.
