Insilico Medicine reaches preclinical milestone in MASH drug discovery

Insilico Medicine("Insilico"), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, recently achieved preclinical milestone in its collaboration with Therasid Bioscience, a South Korean based biotechnology company focuses on developing innovative first-in-class drugs for treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). 

MASH is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and a significant driver of liver cirrhosis and hepatic cellular carcinoma, impacting approximately 5% of adults worldwide. Despite its widespread prevalence and serious complications, there are currently no globally approved pharmacological therapies specifically targeting MASH.

In this collaboration, Insilico successfully optimized a series of compounds provided by Therasid Bioscience targeting a challenge protein, with a focus on improving ADMET properties. By leveraging its proprietary AI-powered generative chemistry engine, Chemistry42, Insilico's team synthesized and tested approximately 40 molecules within only 4 months, ultimately identifying candidate compounds with highly satisfactory properties.

Moving forward, the molecule will undergo further development by Therasid Bioscience, including in vivo and in vitro validation. These efforts will pave the way for the molecule to be nominated as the preclinical candidate, laying a solid foundation for future therapeutic innovation to address this critical unmet medical need.

We are thrilled with the remarkable progress achieved through the collaboration with Insilico. Previously, we explored various approaches and tested over 1000 compounds but were unable to obtain molecules with significant potential. Through integration of AI, Insilico completed the molecule optimization with promising ADMET properties in an impressively short time. This achievement underscores the transformative impact of combining AI with advanced biotechnology expertise."

Jay H.J. Kim, CEO of Therasid Bioscience

"We are proud to collaborate with Therasid and support the rapid advancement of their MASH therapeutics program, which highlights the power of AI in accelerating drug discovery," said Feng Ren, PhD, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine. "At Insilico, we are dedicated to efficiently and effectively advancing internal and collaborative programs, and this milestone underscores the ability of our AI-driven platforms to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We look forward to seeing Therasid progress these promising drug candidates to the next stage of development."

Insilico has previously showcased the capability of its proprietary AI platform to significantly reduce cost and improve efficiency in the early stages of small molecule drug discovery and development. Since 2021, the company has established a wholly-owned pipeline of 30 assets powered by its Pharma.AI, 10 of which have received IND clearance, setting a benchmark for AI-driven drug discovery and development. 

By integrating cutting-edge AI and automation technologies, Insilico Medicine has achieved significant efficiency gains compared to traditional drug discovery methods, which typically take 2.5–4 years. As announced in recent key timeline benchmarks for its internal drug candidate (DC) programs from 2021 to 2024, Insilico has demonstrated remarkable performance, with an average timeline to DC of just 12–18 months, 60–200 molecules synthesized and tested per program, and a 100% success rate in advancing from DC to the IND-enabling stage.