SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has agreed to buy Boston-based Modella AI, the companies said on Tuesday, as the drug industry increases its use of artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery of new drugs.
The companies did not disclose financial terms. In a press release, Modella AI said its "foundation models" and AI agents would be integrated into oncology research and development to support clinical development and biomarker discovery.
"Oncology drug development is becoming more complex, more data-rich and more time-sensitive," said Gabi Raia, Modella AI's chief commercial officer, adding that joining AstraZeneca would allow it to deploy its tools in global trials and clinical settings.
AstraZeneca said that this was the first acquisition of an AI firm by a big pharmaceutical company.
In an interview at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, AstraZeneca Chief Financial Officer Aradhana Sarin said the acquisition would "supercharge" the company's quantitative pathology and biomarker discovery efforts by bringing more data and AI capabilities in-house.
The deal was one of a number of pacts between major drug firms and AI companies that were unveiled at the healthcare conference, including a $1 billion collaboration between Nvidia and Eli Lilly. They plan to build a new research lab using Nvidia's latest-generation AI chips.
Modella will accelerate AstraZeneca’s efforts to make pathology more quantitative - using computers to analyze biopsies for relevant proteins and correlate them with clinical data - so AstraZeneca can develop “highly targeted biomarkers and then highly targeted therapeutics,” Sarin said.
The deal is an expansion of a multi-year collaboration that the companies unveiled in July.
Sarin said that partnership served as a "test drive," adding that AstraZeneca ultimately wanted Modella's data, foundation models and AI talent in-house.
She said AI tools could be used to more rapidly select patients for drug trials, which could increase the odds of clinical success and cut related costs.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Orcas seen hunting great white sharks to eat their livers in drone footage recorded in Mexico - 2Authentic Urban areas: Rich Legacy and Lively Societies
- 3Twelve injured near Beit Shemesh, reports of shrapnel impact in Eilat as Iran targets Israel
- 4Putin says Russian forces will seize capital of Zaporizhzhya
- 5Climate leaders are talking about 'overshoot' into warming danger zone. Here's what it means
- A new mom skipped a routine appointment. An infected cut led to a devastating diagnosis
- From Squid Game to Your Party! Six Entertaining Test Games That Will Have You in Join
- Pfizer says patient dies after receiving hemophilia drug in trial
- Tehran synagogue damaged by missile strike according to Iranian media
- Am I a Summer, or is this a scam? What I learned from color analysis.
- A trip to Colombia in my 20s turned into 8 years freelancing in South America. Here's what I'd do differently.
- Space debris: will it take a catastrophe for nations to take the issue seriously?
- These HGTV stars made a pledge to keep their kids off smartphones. Here's how it's going.
- Courageous Climbing: Trails and Stuff for Outside Lovers
