To Survive: Leading AI Drugmaker Announces Major Layoffs and Strategic Restructuring
Exscientia
Developer of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven Drug Discovery Technology
Merck Group
Pharmaceutical R&D Developer
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Author: Andrii Buvailo, Article: AI Is Surging In Drug Discovery Market
AI (Artificial Intelligence) as a derivative discipline of computer science, was born at the 1956 Dartmouth Conference in the United States. As one of the hottest technologies currently,AI is widely used in different stages and various aspects of drug research and development.。
Exscientia (Nasdaq: EXAI) is a company founded in2012An established AI pharmaceutical company headquartered in Oxford, UK. The company comprises three major technological modules: CentaurAI, Centaur Biologist, and Centaur Chemist.
On September 20, 2023, Exscientia (Nasdaq: EXAI) initiated a new collaboration with Merck KGaA for the development of novel candidate molecules, focusing on discovering new small-molecule drug candidates in the fields of oncology, CNS neuroinflammation, and immunology. Under the terms of the agreement, Exscientia received an upfront payment of $20 million from Merck KGaA. If all milestones for the three initial projects are achieved, Exscientia will be eligible to receive milestone payments based on discovery, development, regulatory, and sales achievements, with a total potential value of up to $674 million. If Merck successfully commercializes the drugs, Exscientia will be entitled to receive royalties ranging from mid-single-digits to low-double-digits on product sales.
In October 2023, Exscientia announced that it would terminate the Phase I/II study of the cancer candidate drug EXS-21546 due to efficacy not meeting expectations. EXS-21546 is an A2A receptor antagonist molecule co-developed by Exscientia using its AI-driven platform and the biological and chemical capabilities provided by Evotec. On April 9, 2021, this product officially entered the clinical trial development stage.
CompanyPreviouslyPartners include Sumitomo Pharma, Evotec, BMS, Bayer, Sanofi, EQRx, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Oxford, Rallybio, BlueOak, Huadong Medicine, and Shanghai Pylon Bio.
Product Pipeline Chart Around October 2021
Product Pipeline Chart Around February 2024, More Focused
As of February 20, 2024, the company's market value was 7.86 billion US dollars.
As of June 26, 2024, the company's market value was 6.69 billion US dollars.
Professor Andrew Hopkins, former CEO of Exscientia
According to foreign media reports on February 13, 2024, Exscientia removed its former CEO Andrew Hopkins due to the company's board believing he had "inappropriate" relationships with two employees.
Wikipedia
On May 21, 2024, Exscientia stated plans to proceed before the end of the year.Reduce personnel by 20-25%, adoptStreamlineA flexible operating model, with funds primarily used to push candidate drugs into the clinical trial stage, enabling the companyCash Flow Maintained Until 2027; This round of layoffs is expected to start from 2025.Save $40 Million AnnuallyThe main clinical-stage molecules currently are the CDK7 inhibitor GTAEXS617 and the PKC-theta inhibitor EXS4318 (licensed from BMS). Clinical trials for its LSD1 inhibitor and MALT1-targeted candidate drug are planned to commence in the second half of this year and early 2025, respectively.
Reference:
NMPA/CDE；
Pharnex Cloud Data www.pharnexcloud.com;
FDA/EMA/PMDA；
Relevant companies publicly disclosed;
https://firstwordpharma.com/story/5858985；
https://investors.exscientia.ai/events-and-presentations/default.aspx；https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/exscientia-fires-ceo-andrew-hopkins-over-inappropriate-relationships-2-employees；https://www.exscientia.ai/team；
https://investors.exscientia.ai/press-releases/press-release-details/2023/Exscientia-Announces-AI-Drug-Discovery-Collaboration-with-Merck-KGaA-Darmstadt-Germany/default.aspx；
Etc.
This article is intended to provide scientific information to healthcare professionals only, does not represent the platform's position, and does not make any medication recommendations.
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