Illumina Enters Drug Development Leveraging Genomic Data and AI to Accelerate Novel Therapeutics Discovery

Today, Illumina, one of the leading companies in the DNA sequencing field, and Deerfield Management, a healthcare investment firm, jointly announced a 5-year collaboration aimed at discovering and developing innovative therapies for diseases with unmet medical needs using genetics-guided strategies. The goal of this partnership is to leverage genomic tools and genetic knowledge to select projects with higher chances of success, reducing R&D costs while accelerating the approval of cutting-edge treatments.

Drug development is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. Historical data shows that the chance of success for drugs entering phase 1 clinical trials to eventually gain approval is only about 10%. Past studies have indicated that drug development programs targeting human genetics-validated targets see a significantly higher success rate. Leveraging genomic data to discover human genetics-validated targets has become one of the key development strategies for many pharmaceutical companies. At this year's WuXi AppTec Global Forum, Dr. Eric Kelsic, founder and CEO of Dyno Therapeutics, stated that looking ahead, companies with the most data will have a strong advantage in developing new therapies.

Illumina, Inc. is known for developing next-generation DNA sequencers and providing research tools for scientists and drug developers. The company believes that by leveraging its large-scale genetic database and its capabilities in using artificial intelligence to process data, it may discover significant genetic variations, further enhancing the success rate of drug discovery and development.

According to the agreement, Illumina and Deerfield will use Illumina's genetics-driven drug discovery platform to discover new therapeutic targets. This platform combines Illumina's Connected Analytics technology with an AI-driven genomic interpretation solution. Deerfield will contribute its expertise in translational science to advance genetically validated drug candidates into the discovery research phase.

"Currently, drug discovery is a time-consuming and labor-intensive difficult process, as 90% of therapies in development fail due to deficiencies in understanding the complex biology of diseases," said Dr. Joydeep Goswami, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer of Illumina, Inc. "Research by Dr. Matt Nelson, Vice President of Genetics and Genomics at Deerfield, shows that genetically validated targets can improve project success rates, accelerate time to market, and reduce costs. Combined with Illumina's expertise in applying artificial intelligence to target discovery, we expect to bring a leap in speed and efficiency to drug development."

References:

[1] Illumina and Deerfield Management partner to accelerate drug development. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/illumina-and-deerfield-management-partner-to-accelerate-drug-development-301540359.html

[2] Illumina, maker of a key tool for drug discovery, to try making new drugs itself. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.statnews.com/2022/05/05/illumina-maker-of-a-key-tool-for-drug-discovery-to-try-making-new-drugs-itself/

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