Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, has successfully raised a sum of $110 million Series E financing.
Led by a private equity fund of Value Partners Group, the round saw further participation coming from various industry- and technology-focused new investors and global existing backers.
More on that would reveal how Insilico plans on deploying these newly-raised funds to advance its innovative drug pipeline and AI platform developments. This includes refining AI models and algorithms, while simultaneously offering updates and expansions for its state-of-the-art automatic lab to automate and streamline R&D processes.
Furthermore, the company will look to scale up the clinical validation of its flagship candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatment, as well as accelerate the exploration of other independently developed and co-developed drug pipelines so to drive impactful innovations in healthcare.
“We are excited to partner with Insilico Medicine in its mission to transform drug discovery with AI and automation. With a proven track record and a leadership position in AI-driven drug development, Insilico is at the forefront of transforming the industry. We believe that Insilico’s advancements will not only accelerate the development of life-saving therapies but also redefine the future of biopharmaceutical R&D. This partnership also marks a significant milestone for Value Partners’ private equity strategy and our vision of investing in disruptive innovations that have the potential to reshape industries,” said Dr. Chuen Yan Leung, Partner (Healthcare Investments).
For better understanding, Insilico has gone onto achieve important progress in both the development of AI platform and drug discovery pipeline, showcasing the ability of its proprietary AI-driven platform to significantly reduce costs and enhance efficiency in the early stages of drug discovery.
The company, in line with its key benchmarks for internal preclinical candidate (PCC) programs show, has managed to cut down on average time to PCC nomination to just 12-18 months, compared to traditional drug discovery methods that typically require 2.5-4 years. Alongside that, Insilico has also facilitated the synthesis and testing of only 60-200 molecules per program.
We referred to Insilico’s proprietary platform, Pharma.AI, but what we haven’t touched upon yet is that the solution is actually designed around generative AI and the idea of continuously integrating cutting-edge technologies to provide a comprehensive solution spanning biology, generative chemistry, clinical medicine, and scientific research.
In case that wasn’t enough, the platform in question is only aided further through the introduction of innovative engines, running on large language models (LLMs) like Nach01, a multimodal foundation model for natural and chemical languages, and Dora, a multi-agent generative research assistant.
All in all, up until now, Insilico has rapidly built a wholly-owned drug discovery portfolio of 30 assets, driven by advanced Pharma.AI platform. Out of those, 10 assets have even received IND clearance.
The most advanced candidate, Rentosertib (formerly known as ISM001-055), developed for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), has progressed through multiple clinical studies with encouraging results. You see, going by a completed Phase IIa clinical trial, Rentosertib successfully demonstrated favorable safety and tolerability across all dose levels, with dose-dependent response achieved in forced vital capacity (FVC), after only 12 weeks of dosage.
Apart from that, Insilico has also managed to cut open a sustainable revenue stream with its business model centered on out-licensing deals for its pipelines. Thus far, the company has secured four pipeline out-licensing agreements, and it has done with players like Fosun Pharma, Exelixis, and Menarini, collectively valued at over $2.1 billion.
To complement that, Insilco has initiated multiple drug discovery and development collaborations with industry partners, including Sanofi, Saudi Aramco, Therasid Bioscience, and others, with the combined value of over $1.4 billion.
“We are thrilled to announce our $110 million Series E financing—a key milestone that reflects our unwavering commitment to transforming healthcare and the strong confidence of our investors. This round, led by Value Partners and anchored by industry-focused investors, was heavily oversubscribed, drawing exceptional interest from prominent investors,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. “The funds raised will accelerate the advancement of our drug pipeline and AI platform, further solidifying Insilico’s leadership in this rapidly evolving sector.”
