AstraZeneca Announces Two AI-Driven R&D Collaborations Targeting Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Heart Failure, and 'Undruggable' Transcription Factors in Oncology

Today, AstraZeneca has reached R&D agreements with BenevolentAI and Scorpion Therapeutics respectively. The partnerships will utilize AI drug development platforms to accelerate the development of new drugs for systemic lupus erythematosus and heart failure, as well as to create innovative cancer therapies targeting hard-to-drug transcription factors.

AstraZeneca and BenevolentAI reached a R&D agreement in 2019 to collaborate on developing innovative therapies for chronic kidney disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This collaboration has already identified two novel targets, which have been incorporated into AstraZeneca's R&D pipeline. The agreement announced today further expands the partnership, adding systemic lupus erythematosus and heart failure to their collaborative R&D efforts.

BenevolentAI's drug discovery platform can be applied to any disease and has the ability to discover a large number of innovative targets. Scientists from both companies will use this platform, along with data from various sources, to better understand the underlying mechanisms of these diseases and discover innovative targets.

The research and development collaboration with Scorpion Therapeutics will focus on transcription factors, proteins that control gene expression and can regulate vital cellular processes such as cell growth and survival. Many transcription factors are disease drivers and important targets for cancer therapy development, but these proteins have previously been considered difficult to target with traditional drug discovery approaches.

This collaboration will combine Scorpion's integrated discovery platform with AstraZeneca's expertise in the development of precision oncology medicines, aiming to address the challenge of targeting transcription factors. Under the agreement, Scorpion will be responsible for lead compound discovery and certain preclinical studies, while AstraZeneca has the option to obtain development rights for up to three candidate drugs. Scorpion will receive a $75 million upfront payment and potential milestone payments.

References:

[1] AstraZeneca and Scorpion Therapeutics enter agreement to discover, develop and commercialise novel cancer treatments against ‘undruggable’ targets. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/astraz/media-centre/press-releases/2022/astrazeneca-and-scorpion-therapeutics-enter-agreement-to-discover-develop-and-commercialise-novel-cancer-treatments-against-undruggable-targets.html

[2] BenevolentAI Announces 3-Year Collaboration Expansion With AstraZeneca Focused On Systemic Lupus Erythematosus And Heart Failure. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.benevolent.com/news/benevolentai-announces-3-year-collaboration-expansion-with-astrazeneca-focused-on-systemic-lupus-erythematosus-and-heart-failure

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