Zhiyao Bang October 23, 2024 09:01 Shanghai

On October 9, 2024, insitro, a new drug development company that supports machine learning, announced the signing of three strategic agreements with Eli Lilly, focusing on developing potential new drugs for the treatment of metabolic diseases, including metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver (MASLD), based on the targets identified by insitro using the company's AI based platform.Metabolic diseases, including MASLD, affect millions of people worldwide, but effective treatment options are still limited. The current treatment mainly treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. This collaboration aims to combine Insitro's machine learning platform with Lilly's expertise in cutting-edge drug delivery and metabolic disease biology to change existing models.

According to the first two agreements, Insitro can choose to license Lilly's proprietary, clinically advanced ternary N-acetylglucosamine (GalNAc) delivery technology, which will be combined with two different small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules discovered and developed by Insitro, each specifically targeting different targets in the liver.

According to the third agreement, Insitro and Eli Lilly will collaborate to discover and develop antibodies targeting a third new target for metabolic diseases. As part of the collaboration, the two companies will jointly carry out early preclinical development activities until the development of candidate drugs is nominated, at which point Insitro will be responsible for all remaining development and commercialization work.

Dr. Daphne Koller, founder and CEO of Insitro, said, "We are not only constantly innovating in biological discoveries, but also in how to collaborate with industry leaders like Eli Lilly to accelerate our treatment projects towards clinical practice. Our proprietary AI/ML platform utilizes large-scale multimodal data, computing power, and genetics to identify several high-value targets that are widely supported in human genetics and transformable models. By fundamentally addressing metabolic diseases, these targets can help bring transformative impact to patients with metabolic diseases, and combining the best combination of biotechnology and pharmaceutical technology can accelerate our impact

According to these agreements, Insitro will collaborate with Lilly Catalyze360 ExploR&D, which is Lilly's external innovation pillar, bringing together corporate learning, scientific knowledge, and best in class R&D capabilities to accelerate scientific research among partners. In all agreements, Insitro reserves all global rights to its projects, while Lilly is eligible for potential milestones and royalties.

This collaboration demonstrates Insitro's ability to lead target discovery and early development work, as well as the company's commitment to accelerating these projects towards clinical use through partnerships with leading institutions with differentiated expertise.

About GalNAc

The ternary structure of N-acetylglucosamine can serve as a targeted and internalized ligand for oligonucleotide based (and approved) antisense and siRNA therapies, binding to Asialoglycoprotein receptors expressed on the surface of liver cells in the liver.

About MASLD

MASLD is caused by fat accumulation in the liver of people with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or high cholesterol but little or no alcohol consumption. It is estimated that there are currently 100 million people in the United States who suffer from MASLD. Most MASLD patients are asymptomatic and go undiagnosed for years, leading to cirrhosis and ultimately liver failure. At present, there is no approved interventional treatment for MASLD, and the condition can usually only be controlled by changing diet and lifestyle. Metabolic liver disease is difficult to treat due to its complex multifactorial nature involving genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, making it challenging to identify effective therapeutic targets. Metabolic diseases, including metabolic liver disease, affect millions of people worldwide, but effective treatment options are still limited. The current treatment mainly treats the symptoms rather than the root cause.

About Insitro

Insitro is a machine learning based drug discovery and development company that has pioneered a new approach for target and drug discovery. We integrate multimodal data from human queues and cell models with the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Insitro is using human and cellular data to discover gene targets and new therapeutic hypotheses to increase the probability of success. These insights provide us with a starting point for discovering new molecules. We can utilize our internal artificial intelligence drug discovery platform or collaborate with partners to expand our influence. So far, Insitro has raised over $700 million in funding and is building a "pipeline through platform" with a focus on metabolic diseases, neurodegeneration, and oncology. Approaching clinical practice, Insitro's goal is to deploy its artificial intelligence model, conduct smaller and more effective trials, and recruit the most beneficial patients.