Artificial intelligence (AI) has already made significant strides in various fields, including uncovering the structure of proteins and discovering new materials. Now, San Francisco-based company VeriSIM Life aims to utilize AI models to accelerate drug discovery and enhance treatments for complex diseases.
VeriSIM Life’s platform, BIOiSIM, boasts an extensive data lake with over 3 million compounds and 5,000 human and animal datasets. Pharmaceutical researchers can leverage this vast database to virtually find, develop, and test new compounds before investing in costly clinical trials.
To further improve the platform, VeriSIM introduced AtlasGEN, a feature that provides biological translation simulations. These simulations estimate how well a drug works in the human or animal body, enabling researchers to determine which drugs are worth pursuing and which animals are suitable for testing. By refining animal experiments and validating drugs computationally, VeriSIM Life not only promotes animal welfare but also saves researchers time and money.
VeriSIM Life’s CEO and founder, Dr. Jo Varshney, is personally invested in this mission. With a background in veterinary medicine and a Ph.D. in genomics and computational sciences, Varshney has long been passionate about merging medicine, biology, chemistry, and AI to predict novel molecules and advance drug development.
Already, VeriSIM Life has successfully assisted four clients in bringing their drugs to clinical trials. The company has garnered substantial investments from prominent firms like Intel Capital and Village Global.
The Current Challenges in Drug Research and Discovery
The pharmaceutical industry is a massive market worth approximately $1.6 trillion. However, the cost of research and development for new drugs has skyrocketed by tenfold in the United States since the 1980s. Despite this significant investment, approximately 90% of drugs fail during clinical trials. On average, it costs over $870 million to develop a single drug, which takes about 10-12 years.
VeriSIM estimates that its BIOiSIM platform can reduce the timeline from research and development to obtaining authorization from the FDA for clinical trials by 2.5 years. Moreover, the platform claims to offer 82% greater accuracy at modeling drug effects compared to non-AI methods.
Unveiling the Technology behind BIOiSIM and AtlasGEN
VeriSIM Life’s BIOiSIM platform comprises multiple AI models and datasets. The company employs machine learning methods, generative adversarial networks (GANs), and generative AI to identify new molecules from an enormous space of possibilities. By distilling the data down to the best molecular structure, BIOiSIM streamlines drug discovery.
Equally important, VeriSIM Life has created virtual analogs of real-world species, including humans, dogs, rats, and pigs. By combining knowledge from chemistry, physiology, and animals commonly used in clinical trials, VeriSIM Life codifies this information into a Translational Index score. This score, ranging from 1 to 10, helps pharmaceutical researchers determine the efficacy of drugs and select appropriate animal models for testing. If a drug is ineffective in humans despite showing promise in animals, its score decreases.
BIOiSIM and AtlasGEN can run over 800 billion different scenarios, enabling researchers to explore a wide range of possibilities. VeriSIM’s team of computer engineers and accredited researchers continuously customize the platform and animal models based on clients’ specific needs. For instance, if a drug is expected to be toxic to the liver, experts will incorporate liver organ models to demonstrate how toxicity may differ between species.
Monetization of the platform involves VeriSIM Life receiving a percentage of drug revenue developed on the platform. Additionally, the company offers subscription-based pricing annually or on a project-by-project basis.
AI’s Influence on Healthcare
AI’s impact on healthcare extends beyond drug discovery. Companies are utilizing AI models to offer doctors personalized recommendations for cancer screenings, propose diagnoses, provide alerts and predictions regarding patient health, and develop generative apps for doctors and patients.
VeriSIM Life’s BIOiSIM platform and Translational Index scores aim to reduce costs, increase the success rate of drug trials, and ultimately improve and lengthen people’s lives worldwide.
In conclusion, VeriSIM Life’s revolutionary use of AI in drug discovery and testing has the potential to transform the pharmaceutical industry. By leveraging vast datasets and virtual analogs, BIOiSIM enhances researchers’ ability to identify promising compounds, predict drug efficacy, and streamline clinical trials. This innovative approach not only saves time and money but also contributes to the welfare of animals involved in testing. With AI-driven advancements like BIOiSIM, the future of drug discovery looks promising.
