Italfarmaco partners with Iktos on artificial intelligence to speed drug discovery breakthroughs for patients
June 18 2024 - 3:00AM
PRESS RELEASE
Italfarmaco partners with Iktos on
artificial intelligence to speed drug discovery breakthroughs for
patients
Combines AI to increase the potential of novel
histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in the non-oncological
field
Cinisello Balsamo,18th June 2024 – Italfarmaco
SpA (ITF), a private global pharmaceutical company, and Iktos, a
company specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for new drug
design, today announced a collaboration to develop next generation
HDAC inhibitors for a variety of non-oncological diseases,
including diseases affecting the central nervous system.
Iktos's innovative generative modelling
technology platform, Makya™, will apply a ligand- and
structure-based approach in designing novel molecules that align
with ITF's candidate drug target profile (CDTP); Iktos's approach
enables the exploration of chemical space and produces innovative
molecule designs, with optimal interactions within the target’s
binding site, and synthetic tractability thanks to integration with
Iktos’s retrosynthesis AI technology platform Spaya™.
"Drug discovery is a complex, long, iterative
and high-risk process," said Christian Steinkühler, Group Chief
Scientific Officer, Italfarmaco. “With millions of people waiting
for the approval of new medicines, AI will help us identify new
HDAC drug candidates that can enter clinical trials in less time
and employ fewer resources. ITF will leverage its previous
experience in epigenetics and HDAC inhibitors, together with
Iktos’s expertise in AI, with the goal of identifying promising
candidates.”
"We are thrilled to announce our collaboration
with ITF", stated Dr. Quentin Perron, Co-founder and CSO of Iktos.
"Our commitment at Iktos lies in advancing innovative technologies
that augment the likelihood of success in small molecule discovery.
Our ultimate goal is to accelerate drug discovery through the
application of AI, thanks to our robust algorithmic technology and
our wealth of expertise gained through numerous successful
collaborations.”
About HDAC inhibitors
Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a family of
epigenetic enzymes that play a crucial role in regulating various
biological processes, including gene expression, cell cycle
progression, and apoptosis. Inhibitors of HDACs have been developed
and approved, primarily for the treatment of cancer, demonstrating
significant therapeutic potential in oncology.
Italfarmaco has developed Givinostat, an HDAC
inhibitor, for a non-oncological indication, specifically for the
treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Givinostat
modulates the deregulated activity of HDACs in the dystrophic
muscle, which is a major consequence of the lack of dystrophin
associated with DMD. Givinostat received full FDA approval for DMD,
and the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Givinostat
has been submitted to the European Medicine Agency (EMA).
ABOUT ITALFARMACO
Italfarmaco is a private multinational group
headquartered in Milan, Italy. Established in 1938, its mission has
been to improve patient lives and overall well-being through
pioneering research &development, high-quality production and
global marketing of branded prescription and non-prescription
products.
Operating in the pharmaceutical and API
development, Italfarmaco Group has a presence in over 90 countries,
employs 3,800 individuals, including 300 professionals across its
four Research & Development Hubs, and generates a turnover
exceeding 1 billion Euros.
The group is known for its products in the key
therapeutic areas such as Women's Health, Neurology and Psychiatry,
Cardiovascular and Metabolic, and Rare Disease.
Italfarmaco Group manufactures medicinal
specialties adhering to the highest quality standards, including
sterile injectables, solid, semi solid, and liquid oral forms,
across six state-of-the-art production facilities located in Milan,
Frosinone, Madrid, Barcelona, Salvador de Bahia and Santiago del
Chile.
ABOUT IKTOS
Incorporated in October 2016, Iktos is a French
start-up company specializing in the development of artificial
intelligence solutions applied to chemical research, more
specifically medicinal chemistry and new drug design. Iktos is
developing a proprietary and innovative solution based on deep
generative models, which enables, using existing data, to design
molecules that are optimized in silico to meet all the success
criteria of a small molecule discovery project. The use of Iktos
technology enables major productivity gains in upstream
pharmaceutical R&D. Iktos offers its technology through the
SaaS software platforms Makya™ for generative drug design and
Spaya™ for retrosynthesis, and through strategic collaborations
with pharma companies where Iktos mobilizes its unique platform and
leading-edge capabilities to expedite small molecule drug discovery
for the benefit of its partners. Iktos is also developing Iktos
Robotics, a unique AI-driven synthesis automation platform that
dramatically accelerates the Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycle in drug
discovery.
More information on: http://www.iktos.ai/
MEDIA
CONTACTItalfarmaco Veronica CarminatiEmail:
v.carminati@italfarmacogroup.comPhone: +39 02 6443.3502 - +39 351
7623422 |
Iktos Yann
Gaston-Mathé (CEO) – contact@iktos.comNicolas Daniels –
ndaniels@ulysse-communication.com / + 33 6 63 66 59 22Charles
Courbet – ccourbet@ulysse-communication.com / + 33 6 28 93 03
06 |