{"id":135482,"date":"2023-12-21T08:38:55","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T08:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmybiznews.com\/?p=135482"},"modified":"2023-12-21T08:38:55","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T08:38:55","slug":"ai-makes-mark-in-drug-discovery-in-india-start-up-peptris-raises-1-mn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmybiznews.com\/business\/ai-makes-mark-in-drug-discovery-in-india-start-up-peptris-raises-1-mn\/","title":{"rendered":"AI makes mark in drug discovery in India; start-up Peptris raises $1 mn"},"content":{"rendered":"
Peptris is revolutionizing drug discovery through the implementation of its state-of-the-art AI platform. It is transforming the traditionally lengthy and costly drug discovery process.<\/strong><\/p>\n Shine Jacob\/Business Standard<\/em> reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The process of discovering and developing a new drug can take decades and costs hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.<\/p>\n However, technological advances like artificial intelligence can help speed up and transform the time-consuming and labor-intensive exercise.<\/p>\n In India, Peptris Technologies, a Bangalore-based AI drug discovery company, has announced $1 million in pre-seed round investment led by Speciale Invest.<\/p>\n The funding marks a key step in boosting the company’s efforts in advancing AI-driven solutions in the drug development\/discovery sector, with a special focus on developing novel therapies for undruggable targets, particularly in oncology, inflammation, and rare diseases.<\/p>\n “Around $2.5 billion and ten years are spent generally on getting any drug to the market and its pre-clinical part is about five years.<\/p>\n “With our technology, this pre-clinical phase will shrink to one-and-a-half years and its expense will come down from $700 million to $400,000.<\/p>\n “Thus time, cost and the number of experiments will become advantageous for the industry,” said Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, chief executive officer and co-founder of Peptris.<\/p>\n Peptris is revolutionising drug discovery through the implementation of its state-of-the-art AI platform.<\/p>\n It is transforming the traditionally lengthy and costly drug discovery process, which makes essential medications financially out of reach for many.<\/p>\n This technology efficiently narrows down extensive chemical libraries to pinpoint promising drug candidates, marking a significant advancement over traditional drug discovery methods.<\/p>\n “The company intends to leverage and capitalise on the recent maturation of AI technology in developing its proprietary drug discovery platform.<\/p>\n “The strides in unsupervised learning and the availability of vast chemical libraries have opened new avenues in the sector, offering substantial market opportunities,” the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n Peptris is capitalising on this opportunity by developing a proprietary AI platform that reduces preclinical development timelines and costs multifold.<\/p>\n “We are thrilled to announce that we have secured investment from Speciale Invest.<\/p>\n “We are particularly impressed by their breadth of investment in the deep tech sector, which reflects a profound understanding and commitment to driving technological advancements.<\/p>\n “This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey.<\/p>\n “The current funding will help us accelerate our AI-powered discovery programmes and create a robust pipeline of potential drug candidates,” said Venkatasubramanian.<\/p>\n “The backing from Speciale Invest is set to catalyse Peptris’ journey, supporting the expansion of the drug pipeline and further refinement of the platform.<\/p>\n “This funding isn’t just an investment in technology; it’s an investment in the future of healthcare in India, bringing hope of more accessible and affordable treatments to millions,” he added.<\/p>\n Founded in 2019, Peptris is led by a founding team that combines deep pharmaceutical knowledge with advanced computational technology.<\/p>\n It is broadening its research scope to include rare diseases, in addition to its ongoing work in oncology and inflammation.<\/p>\n This strategic expansion aligns with the company’s mission to leverage AI for the rapid and efficient discovery of novel therapeutic options.<\/p>\n The integration of AI in drug discovery, particularly in the context of rare diseases, addresses over 7,000 known conditions lacking approved treatments.<\/p>\n By focusing on rare diseases, the company not only bridges a critical gap in healthcare\/biotechnology but also makes a significant contribution to societal welfare, providing hope for patients and families affected by these conditions.<\/p>\n