Finnish/US collaboration to leverage AI and digital twins to aid in cancer drug discovery

A new collaboration is to see the use of AI and digital twin technology in discovering and developing new treatments for cancer.

The agreement between Orion Corporation, a Finnish pharmaceutical company, and Aitia, an AI-enabled biotech company based in Massachusetts, will see the creation of “Gemini Digital Twins” to combine with Orion’s pre-clinical and clinical data.

It is hoped that the results could help “discover and validate novel drug targets, and to develop drug candidates across multiple oncologic indications”, with Orion retaining the “exclusive option” to develop and commercialise novel drugs that are identified.

Sharing more details on the project, Colin Hill, CEO and co-founder of Aitia, said that the Gemini Digital Twins “leverage large quantities of multi-omic patient data and causal AI and simulation with Orion’s deep expertise in oncology drug discovery and development”, adding that by creating predictive models for disease, “we can uncover previously hidden mechanisms and pathways, accelerating the discovery of new, more effective medicines”.

Outi Vaarala, senior vice president of innovative medicines and research & development at Orion, also spoke out about his “excitement” for the upcoming project, saying that by leveraging Aitia’s technology, Orion hopes to “unlock deeper insights into the complex biology of cancer, ultimately accelerating the development of novel therapies that could significantly improve patient outcomes”.

Elsewhere on innovation, the FDA in the US has approved an AI cardiac solution to help support clinicians in identifying patients at high risk of coronary artery disease, utilising medical imaging data to measure coronary artery calcium (CAC) as a predictor for future cardiovascular events, and potentially helping to offer more patients improved preventative care.

In Europe, May, an app designed for future parents and offering medical messaging, pregnancy support and a range of health tools designed to “simplify your daily life”, has raised €7 million in funding to support its expansion plans.