Recently, AI pharmaceutical enterprisesEvaxionAnnounced the Phase 2 clinical efficacy data of its cancer vaccine EVX-01 in patients with advanced melanoma.After two years of observation, the objective response rate (ORR) of this vaccine in patients with advanced melanoma was as high as 75%, evenHigher than the 69% observed one year after treatment,Group 16Twelve of the patients had an objective clinical response, with four patients achieving complete remission.But it is worth noting that the number of patients recruited in this trial was far fewer than originally planned.The planned 90 patients were reduced to only 17,Therefore, it is impossible to measure statistical significance.
Merck Makes Heavy Bets, Focusing on Cancer and Infectious Disease Fields
Evaxion was founded in 2008 and is committed to buildingAn AI company with a 7-year history in the target discovery platformPreviously focused on personalized cancer immunotherapy and went public on NASDAQ in 2021.
The core asset of the company isArtificial Intelligence PlatformAI-Immunology™, which can quickly and effectively discover, design, and develop vaccine targets, currently has four cancer pipelines and six infectious disease pipelines.The EVX-01 mentioned above is the fastest progressing one, mainlyIn combination with K drug for the treatment of melanoma, the required K drug in this clinical trial was also provided by MSD.As early as December last year, MSD participated in the company's private placement financing.As of now, Merck & Co. has become the largest shareholder of Evaxion Biotech, holding 11.4% of Evaxion's shares.In-depth Layout of the mRNA PowerhouseIs the AI vaccine a battleground?
In fact, artificial intelligence technology has been widely used in vaccine development, especially in the discovery of mRNA vaccines.
BioNTechAs early as2011Designed using a computer in yearmRNAVaccines, and developed machine learning algorithms to improvePrediction of new epitopes, relevant results at2017Published in Nature in the year.In 2023, the company acquired InstaDeep for $440 million., with the aim of building world-leading capabilities in AI-driven drug discovery and the development of next-generation immunotherapies and vaccines.ModernaIn 2016, an internal machine learning platform named "Internal Computation" was established with the aim of designing personalized mRNA sequences using computational methods.During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moderna used algorithms to identify the required mutations from the sequence in just 42 days, accelerating vaccine development.Subsequently, more withIBM、OpenAILaunch cooperation,Leverage cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing to accelerate mRNA therapy research.
In the Chinese market,BaiduAlso once released an algorithm for optimizing mRNA sequences.LinearDesign, this algorithm uses grid parsing technology in natural language processing to optimize mRNA sequences, thereby enhancing the stability and efficacy of mRNA sequences.
NeoCuraDeveloped a tumor neoantigen prediction systemNeoCura AI ALPINEThe company has obtained a 500 million yuan A+ round of financing in 2021.
