13 Publicly Traded Biotechs Utilizing AI-based Research Platforms (+ 2 Upcoming Public Debuts)
According to our intelligence report, The State of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Biopharma Industry, more than 450 life sciences companies in the categories "startups" and "scaleups" are actively using machine learning and deep learning-based predictive and generative capabilities to augment their research strategies.
Some companies are incorporating AI tools to improve specific stages of drug discovery and development, for instance, to better model disease mechanisms or identify drug repurposing opportunities by analyzing omics data. Other companies are building entire end-to-end platforms for hypothesis generation, target discovery, de novo drug design, and even predicting clinical trial outcomes for newly designed candidates.
Below is a list of publicly traded companies with AI-powered platforms, and there is a bonus list of two companies at the end that are currently filing for IPOs.
Disclaimer: This post is not investment advice of any kind; it is for informational purposes only. Neither BPT Analytics Ltd. nor the authors of this post endorse or recommend any particular stocks or investment opportunities. Consult relevant professional service providers for any investment decisions at all times.
AbCellera Biologics Inc (NASDAQ: ABCL)
AbCellera is a US-based biotech company that develops antibody therapeutics using AI. Founded in 2012, the company went public in December 2020 with a record-setting $555.5M IPO.
They focus on searching and analyzing the immune system to find potential antibodies, then outsourcing their initial findings to their partners for further drug discovery. AbCellera also uses humanized antibody platforms to assess various functional modalities of the potential therapeutic molecules.
The company owns sequencing technologies with functional data from single B-cells, which enables researchers to increase the number of antibody candidates. The company offers customized single-cell assays, which help to uncover relevant antibody properties such as specificity, cross-reactivity, affinity, and others. Such assays generate significant amounts of multimodal and multidimensional data, which AbCellera handles with their proprietary antibody visualization software Celium. After selecting the most promising leads by the number of various criteria, computational protein engineering can be used to optimize antibodies while also considering the natural antibodies' diversity.
RELATED: 10 Companies Applying AI for Designing Biologics
BenevolentAI (AMS: BAI)
A clinical-stage company, BenevolentAI, was founded in 2013 and became public in 2021 via the SPAC deal with Odyssey, which valued the British-based pharmaceuticals firm at up to 1.5 billion euros.
BenevolentAI has a leading drug candidate in Phase 2 clinical trials, aiming to treat atopic dermatitis. Other drug candidates include potential treatments for chronic diseases (such as ulcerative colitis), cancer (glioblastoma multiforme), and more. Additionally, there is an established partnership with AstraZeneca to develop drugs for fibrosis and chronic kidney disease. In 2020, BenevolentAI helped re-discover baricitinib as a potential COVID-19 treatment using their Knowledge Graph platform for drug repurposing.
The Benevolent Platform is a computational tool that utilizes predictive AI algorithms to analyze and extract the needed insights from the available data and scientific literature. For example, Knowledge Graph assists with managing the knowledge from publicly available biomedical data, and additional machine learning models help to identify molecular targets and predict molecular interactions with potential drugs.
BioXcel Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: BTAI)
BioXcel is a US-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 2017. They focus on drug development that utilizes artificial intelligence to identify drug candidates across neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BioXcel went public in 2018 and raised $55.8 million.
BioXcel has an approach that leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically evaluated product candidates together with big data and machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic applications. Most of their drug candidates fit within the field of neuroscience disorders, having an FDA-approved medicine for the acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in adults. Previously, this drug was used in intravenous form for anesthesia, which BioXcel packed into the sublingual films for a new indication. At the same time, the company's pipeline includes clinical studies for combining small-molecule cancer drugs with an antibody, pembrolizumab, for specific cancer cases.
Exscientia (NASDAQ: EXAI)
Oxford-based clinical-stage biotech Exscientia focuses on drug discovery of small molecules for various therapeutic indications using its patient-first AI-driven platform, CentaurAI. Founded in 2012, the company went public in October 2021, raising a total of $510.4 million.
Today, Exscientia possesses multiple drug candidates in the early drug discovery phase—in precision cancer therapy, immunology and inflammation, anti-infectives, and others. One of their candidates in precision cancer therapy reached Phase I of the clinical study.
With its end-to-end AI drug discovery platform, Exscientia offers algorithms for target selection using genetic data, textual data (research articles, patents), patient data, and multiple other data types, as well as the results of sophisticated experimental methods such as high-content screening and surface plasmon resonance. Additionally, the company’s artificial intelligence-based platform can effectively design and optimize small-molecule drugs, leveraging target-driven pharmacology, ADME, 3D structure fingerprints, and other features. Last but not least, Exscientia's AI-driven drug discovery platform is able to anticipate the effectiveness of cancer therapy in the clinic while also matching the drug with the most relevant patient group.
e-Therapeutics
Based in the UK, e-Therapeutics is among the oldest AI in drug discovery companies in our report The State of AI in the Biopharma Industry. Established in 2003, the company harnesses a blend of big data, AI, and machine learning to innovate the process of discovering drugs.
Central to e-Therapeutics' approach is the utilization of its expertise in network biology. This allows the firm to create computational models that deeply explore and understand the complexities of human diseases. Its platforms, HepNet™ and GalOmic™, are at the tools for this innovative work.
HepNet™, a hepatocyte-focused computational biology platform, aids in the identification of novel gene targets and enhances drug design and automation.
GalOmic™, on the other hand, is a proprietary RNAi platform designed to produce GalNAc-siRNA therapeutics that selectively silence disease-associated genes in hepatocytes.
As of early 2024, e-Therapeutics has been active in the market with a stock price of £0.1 and a market capitalization of £90.4 million. The company reported revenue of £475K for FY 2023 and £160.0K for H1 2024..
Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN)
US-based pharmaceutical company Lantern Pharma specializes in developing precision oncology therapies leveraging artificial intelligence and genomics. Founded in 2013, Lantern Pharma closed a $26 million IPO in 2020.
Lantern Pharma has two directions in its drug discovery and development pipeline: developing new classes of precision cancer drugs with novel mechanisms of action and “recycling” previously unsuccessful cancer drugs using machine learning algorithms, genomic data, and novel precision oncology biomarkers.
RELATED: Unveiling Lantern Pharma's Success Story in AI-powered Precision Oncology
Lantern Pharma developed the RADR (Response Algorithm for Drug Positioning and Rescue) platform, which is an integrated data analytics, experimental biology, biotechnology, and machine-learning-based platform. It is a sophisticated tool in assisting with defining and developing combination strategies among drugs in development and those that are approved for a range of oncology indications.
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA)
Moderna Therapeutics is a biotech company founded in 2010 focusing on computationally-driven drug discovery and vaccine development based on messenger RNA technology. In 2018, Moderna closed a record-setting IPO, raising a total of $604.3 million.
Their research engine combines a proprietary artificial intelligence-driven digital engine for drug discovery and vaccine development, integrated into a highly automated production facility to develop mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Using Moderna’s technology, scientists can select a protein in the human proteome to be engineered or design novel proteins.
A web-based mRNA Design Studio enables rapid design of multiple mRNAs, starting from the protein sequence. Additionally, their mRNA Early Development Engine services combine internal and external capabilities for process development, toxicology studies, global regulatory interactions, and clinical study preparation and execution for mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.
The company became famous in 2020 when it managed to develop and commercialize the COVID-19 vaccine, which gained global recognition.
Neumora Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NMRA)
In 2023, Neumora Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, announced the pricing of its initial public offering (IPO) at $17.00 per share, aiming to raise approximately $250 million. The offering includes 14,710,000 shares of common stock, with an additional 2,206,500 shares available to underwriters, and is expected to close on September 19, 2023, trading under the ticker "NMRA" on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Neumora's approach integrates translational, clinical, and computational methods to advance precision medicine in neuroscience, with a pipeline of seven clinical and preclinical programs targeting novel mechanisms for a range of brain diseases.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: RXRX)
Founded in 2013, Recursion Pharmaceuticals is a Utah-based clinical stage "digital biotech," possessing a sophisticated robotized biology experimentation drug discovery platform utilizing machine learning technologies, including high-throughput imaging analytics and high-content screening data modeling. The biotech company went public in April 2021, having raised $502 million.
Their programs target diseases with a well-defined cause but without approved therapies, aiming to address unmet needs. Recursion’s drug development pipeline has three drugs in Phase 2 clinical trials, several more in Phase 1, and multiple candidates in preclinical development.
The company uses a sophisticated modular digital platform, the Operating System, that powers all the biology experimentation facilities and data generation processes. The obtained data is modeled using artificial intelligence-powered algorithms, and the results of predictions are validated experimentally and used further to improve the algorithmic part. Additionally, the company claims to reduce human bias by applying machine learning algorithms designed to extract insights from foundational biological datasets that might be too complex for human interpretation. Multiple tools in their Operating System combine software and hardware to design, execute, aggregate, and store up to 11 petabytes of biological and chemical data.
Relay Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: RLAY)
Founded in 2016, Relay Therapeutics is a US-based company that grew up specializing in developing an artificial intelligence-driven allosteric drug discovery platform intended to apply computational techniques to modeling protein motion. They went public in 2020 with a $460 million IPO.
The company's artificial intelligence-driven platform detects and characterizes interactions that occur on a protein of interest and combines computational methods with experimental approaches across the fields of structural biology, biophysics, and chemistry. Relay’s Dynamo Platform could help with drugging previously undruggable targets, with an initial focus on precision oncology and genetic diseases.
The Dynamo platform utilizes three basic phases of motion-based drug design, such as understanding how to drug the protein and identifying the chemical starting points, followed by optimization until a development candidate is selected. Each phase includes multiple steps, for example, the initial understanding of protein properties Relay Therapeutics synthesizes full-length proteins, followed by cryo-EM and ambient-temperature X-ray crystallography, the data from which is then used to create virtual simulations of the protein motion over biologically relevant timescales.
Schrödinger Inc (NASDAQ: SDGR)
Headquartered in New York, Schrödinger is a company developing molecular design software for pharmaceutical, biotech, and materials research. Founded in 1990, the company went public in 2020 with a $232 million IPO.
Schrödinger has some fully-owned and collaborative drug discovery programs in a broad range of therapeutic areas. Their leading drug candidate is targeted for relapsed / resistant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and it is about to enter Phase 1 clinical trials. The company's collaborative programs resulted in two FDA-approved drugs and multiple programs that have advanced into later stages of clinical trials, such as the drug candidate for inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic diseases, and many others.
The company claims that its AI-driven platform helps to discover new drugs more rapidly, at lower cost, and with a higher likelihood of success than traditional methods. Notably, the company has specialized solutions for both small molecule discovery and biologics discovery, addressing the critical points. For example, in biologics drug discovery, they focus on structure prediction and protein engineering, including antibody modeling.
XtalPi (HKEX: 2228.HK)
XtalPi, an AI drug discovery company based in Shenzhen, with it's initial IPO filing, has commenced trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, May 13, 2024. It is traded under the name QuantumPharm. In preparation for the listing, XtalPi raised 989.3 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately $126.8 million), positioning it as the third-largest initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong this year.
Founded in 2015 by three quantum physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), XtalPi leverages artificial intelligence and robotic automation in drug research. The company has attracted significant early investment from notable backers, including Tencent, Google, and Chinese venture capital firm HongShan.
Previously, the company raised a total of $732 million since its inception in 2015. Its latest private fundraising was a $380 million Series D round in October 2021, valuing Xtalpi at approximately $2 billion. The firm operates autonomous labs in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Boston
Tempus AI (NASDAQ: TEM)
Tempus AI, Inc., a technology company focused on advancing precision medicine through AI, announced its IPO on June 14, 2024, raising $410.7 million.
Founded in 2015 by Eric Lefkofsky, a co-founder of Groupon, the Tempus AI was focused on oncology. Later, it expanded its platform into neuropsychology, radiology, and cardiology, to establish a comprehensive presence in all major disease areas worldwide. This expansion is fueled by the company's data acquisition capabilities, strategic partnerships with healthcare providers and industry associations, and a number of funding rounds in total of over $1.3 billion.
Tempus has introduced several product lines based on its platform, including genomics, data services, and AI applications. These products have seen substantial growth, with Tempus’s clinical next-generation sequencing (NGS) volume in oncology increasing from 31,000 samples in 2018 to approximately 288,000 samples in 2023. The company’s solutions are used by around 95% of the largest public pharmaceutical companies and over 7,000 physicians across the United States.
Bonus list: Upcoming AI in Drug Discovery IPOs and SPACs
Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage drug discovery firm with operations in Hong Kong and New York and specializing in artificial intelligence-based drug discovery, has recently submitted paperwork for an IPO in Hong Kong. This move comes at a time when the region is starting to see a revival in significant stock listings after a period of scarcity.
The specifics of the IPO, such as the amount to be raised, were not revealed in the company's submission to the Hong Kong stock exchange. However, according to a report by the South China Morning Post, which cited anonymous sources, Insilico Medicine is aiming to secure $200 million through this offering.
Zapata Computing, Inc. (Zapata AI) made progress in quantum AI, focusing on solving complex problems for the industrial, commercial, and governmental sectors.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Boston, Zapata AI's collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) highlights its commitment to applying quantum computing in pharmaceutical manufacturing, aiming to enhance efficiency and innovation in the industry.
This partnership leverages Zapata's Orquestra® platform and expertise to develop quantum-based solutions for biopharma and renewable materials, showcasing the transformative potential of quantum technologies.
Additionally, Zapata AI's strategic partnership with D-Wave Quantum Inc. focuses on merging generative AI with quantum computing to address challenging computational problems, including molecule discovery.
Significantly, Zapata AI is set to become a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbols "ZPTA" for its common stock and "ZPTAW" for its public warrants, following a definitive business combination agreement with Andretti Acquisition Corp.
New Rules for Hong Kong IPOs
The new regulation under Chapter 18C became effective on March 31 for companies filing for HKSE IPOs.
This regulation permits companies valued at a minimum of HK$10 billion (approximately US$1.27 billion) to offer shares in initial public offerings (IPOs), even if they haven't generated any revenue yet. This is a reduction from the previously suggested threshold of HK$15 billion (around US$1.91 billion).
Additionally, the required market capitalization for commercial companies has been lowered to HK$6 billion (about US$765 million), down from the earlier HK$8 billion (approximately US$1.02 billion).
A Reality Check for AI in Drug Discovery
While the promise of AI in drug discovery is significant, the reality is that successful implementation and the ability to achieve practical improvements vary dramatically from one use case to another and require quality data, time, highly skilled talent, and a lot of experimentation and validation. Even leading players in this segment are not immune to setbacks. In particular, several drug candidates, advertised as AI-generated, did not meet clinical trial endpoints, and their development was aborted.
Also, with the exception of several companies like Schrödinger, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, and Moderna, the rest of publicly traded AI in drug discovery stocks are showing losses since their IPOs.
That being said, the sector is experiencing consolidation, while companies like Insilico Medicine are demonstrating substantial progress with their AI-generated pipelines.
What is clear, though, is that the advent of AI in drug discovery and development is not a story of a revolution but rather an evolution. Evolution takes time, and it is iterative.
Topic: AI in Bio
