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news.Evogene has partnered with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia to progress the development of AI-driven small molecule cancer therapeutics.
Evogene’s ChemPass AI platform will generate and prioritise chemical leads with drug-like, strong inhibitory properties. Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com.
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The partnership will combine Evogene’s computational chemistry capabilities with the expertise of Dr Mark Adams’ team at QUT, focusing on therapy-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other cancers.
The collaboration is driven by findings from Dr Adams’ laboratory, which identified a druggable cellular detoxification pathway responsible for Cisplatin resistance in NSCLC.
The teams intend to design new small-molecule inhibitors to block this pathway and restore sensitivity to treatment in resistant cancers.
Key areas of focus within the partnership include pinpointing critical mechanisms in Cisplatin-induced detoxification processes that can be targeted therapeutically. Evogene’s ChemPass AI platform will generate chemical leads, prioritising those with suitable drug-like properties and strong inhibitory characteristics.
Iterative refinement of compound designs will be achieved by integrating biological insights from Dr Adams’ lab into the ChemPass AI generative model, optimising multiple parameters for potential drug candidates.
Adams said: “Partnering with Evogene is an exciting opportunity not only from a cell and molecular biology perspective, but also for its translational potential.
“Leveraging Evogene’s AI-driven technology allows us to accelerate a path from research to real-world outcomes. By working together, I look forward to seeing our collective innovation one day make a meaningful difference for people living with cancer.”
Evogene chief development officer Dr Gabi Tarcic said: “By combining Dr Adams’ deep biological insight into resistance pathways with our advanced AI-driven drug design capabilities, we hope to offer a new lifeline to patients who currently face limited treatment options.
“Partnering with Dr Adams’ research team at QUT marks an important step in extending our generative AI technology into oncology, particularly in tackling one of the most persistent challenges in cancer – chemotherapy resistance.”
