Proactive Investors - BenevolentAI SA (AS:BAI) told investors it has reached an important milestone in its collaboration with AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), helping the drug-maker add a new novel target for heart failure to its discovery portfolio.
It is the first selection of a target from Benevolent AI’s extended collaboration with AstraZeneca, which is using the UK-based firm’s AI-driven drug discovery platform.
The partnership between Benevolent AI and AstraZeneca, which began in 2019 and was expanded in 2022 to include heart failure and systemic lupus erythematosus, underscores a significant step forward for the use of AI-identifying potential target Identification across multiple therapeutic areas.
“I am delighted that AstraZeneca has selected one of the novel Heart Failure targets that we have been jointly working on to enter its portfolio,” Benevolent AI chief scientific officer Dr Anne Phelan said in a statement.
“Heart Failure is a therapeutic area where there is significant medical need but, due to the size of the market, requires a team effort and significant momentum, so we are delighted to be working with AstraZeneca in this important field of medicine.”
AstraZeneca SVP Regina Fritsche Danielson, who leads cardiovascular research, meanwhile, added: “Our ongoing collaboration with BenevolentAI has been instrumental in uncovering new insights into complex diseases such as CKD and Heart Failure.
“This shared expertise, combined with the power of AI, has the potential to identify the right therapeutic targets for patients with heart failure and help deliver the next generation of innovative therapies.”