The collaboration will leverage BioMap’s AI drug discovery platform, which integrates large language models and super-scale computing with advanced biotechnology to discover novel targets, design biologics, and optimise multiple parameters
Artificial Intelligence Pharmaceutical Medical Health Medicine Drug, Pill. (Credit: Business Wire)
US-based biotech startup BioMap and French pharmaceutical company Sanofi have teamed up to jointly develop advanced AI modules for biotherapeutic drug discovery.
The strategic collaboration will leverage BioMap’s AI drug discovery platform.
The platform integrates large language models and super-scale computing with advanced biotechnology to discover novel targets and design biologics.
Under the terms of the agreement, BioMap will receive an upfront cash payment of $10m and near-term module development milestones payments from Sanofi.
It is also eligible to receive more than $1bn in payments, contingent on achieving pre-clinical development, clinical development, regulatory, and commercial milestones.
BioMap chief technology officer Le Song said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Sanofi and leverage the potential of BioMap’s cutting-edge AI engine to help solve complex problems associated with new protein therapies to drive drug discovery.
“We have built what is essentially a biological map of proteins using data sets from public and private sources to inform our foundational models.
“Utilising automation and integrated workflows to enhance the collection of high-quality data, we can catalyse the process of new hit discovery and lead optimis[ation.”
The collaboration will combine BioMap’s custom-built foundational models and AI expertise with Sanofi’s data, innovations in protein engineering, and experience in biologics development.
The two companies aim to create advanced AI models and protein large language models that will enable biologics design and multiparametric optimisation.
According to BioMap, traditional AI methods require large volumes of labelled data to make accurate predictions, and labelled data are often in short supply in the life science industry.
BioMap’s foundational models will deploy one large model that was trained on ubiquitous unlabelled data to inform multiple downstream task models.
The approach enhances prediction from limited data in a range of therapeutic areas, including immunology, neurology, oncology, and rare diseases, said the US-based biotech company.
Sanofi research platforms global head Matt Truppo said: “By combining Sanofi’s proprietary data sets, digital infrastructure, AI and data science capabilities, and drug development expertise with BioMap’s protein Large Language Models, high-performance computing, and deep understanding of AI, we can optimise the process of discovery and development of breakthrough biotherapeutics.
“Our collaboration with BioMap further underscores Sanofi’s commitment to becoming the first pharma company powered by artificial intelligence at scale.”