Owkin Unveils AI-Driven Oncology and Immunology Pipeline, In-Licenses Best-in-Class Asset OKN4395
23 Mayo 2024 - 2:00AM
Business Wire
Owkin has unveiled its pipeline of four early-stage de novo drug
discovery programs and one patent-protected in-licensed drug asset,
bringing its world-class data access and AI to the forefront of
drug discovery and development
- Using its proprietary AI engines for biomarker
discovery and drug positioning, Owkin is starting full clinical
development of OKN4395, a best-in-class Dual Inhibitor of
Prostanoid Receptors EP2 and EP4
- Owkin will use its clinical trial optimization
solutions to bring OKN4395 to the patients most likely to benefit
from this best-in-class therapeutic
Owkin, the first end-to-end TechBio unicorn that uses
cutting-edge causal AI to unlock precision drug discovery,
development and diagnostics, has unveiled an innovative drug
pipeline in oncology and immunology following an exclusive global
licensing agreement with Idorsia (SIX: IDIA) to develop and
commercialize OKN4395, a clinic-ready best-in-class dual inhibitor
of prostanoid receptors EP2 and EP4.
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Unveiling Owkin’s AI precision pipeline
Owkin’s unique pipeline is the product of several internal AI
engines powered by multimodal patient data from a network of 61
leading research centers and cutting-edge AI from a team of 110
data scientists that have published 57 top publications. Owkin’s
pipeline is differentiated by the use of spatial multiomics data
via MOSAIC, the world's largest spatial multiomics dataset in
oncology that enables Owkin to capture the tumor microenvironment
in a way that few others can. With deep immune response expertise
in T-cell connectivity and seven years of successful AI drug
discovery projects internally and with leading pharma partners,
Owkin is poised to tackle some of the most critical challenges in
precision medicine.
OKN4395 is the result of 10 years of drug discovery by experts
at Idorsia and external collaborators. Owkin believes this asset
has the potential to be a best-in-class dual inhibitor of the very
challenging EP2 and EP4 targets thanks to years of medicinal
chemistry, a feat that Generative AI has yet to achieve.
Thomas Clozel, MD, CEO & Co-founder: “Our AI-powered
precision pipeline demonstrates our dedication to tailoring
treatments to specific patient subgroups by using causal biomarkers
from patient data. This is how Owkin is driving a paradigm shift in
precision health. As a physician, I am proud that we can now extend
our pipeline from AI-target discovery and lab validation to
clinical trials, getting closer to the ground truth of biology and
providing clinical benefits to patients sooner.”
Owkin’s AI Engines select OKN4395 for in-licensing
Owkin’s biomarker engine used multimodal patient data to create
detailed signatures of EP2/EP4 biology, combining histology and
molecular profiles. This helped identify actionable biomarkers for
indication selection and clinical trial development.
Owkin’s AI drug positioning engine then screened over 30 cancer
indications for OKN4395, ranking them based on their relevance to
the EP2/EP4 pathway. This data-driven process, validated by medical
experts, identified the most promising therapeutic combinations for
clinical trial success, synergising with traditional expert-driven
approaches.
Vassili Soumelis, MD, PhD, Owkin Chief Medical Officer:
“Our AI engines integrated rich multimodal patient data from
multiple cancer indications, allowing us to discover that EP2/EP4
biology significantly perturbs T cell connectivity within the tumor
microenvironment (TME) through direct and indirect mechanisms.”
To de-risk OKN4395’s clinical trial, Owkin will apply AI to
build an external control arm in phase 1B and use multimodal
patient data to select optimal inclusion/exclusion criteria and
prognostic covariates to strengthen the treatment signal in a
data-driven way.
Andrew J. Pierce, PhD, SVP Discovery & Development:
“As a result of extensive in-house medical chemistry expertise,
Idorsia had a very potent dual inhibitor of EP2/EP4, which came
with a compelling preclinical dataset including restoration of T
cell functionality. With this best-in-class asset, Owkin can now
unleash its capacity to decipher complex biology to get us one step
closer to finding the right treatment for every patient.”
Leveraging world-leading data access and cutting-edge
technologies, Owkin’s pipeline promises a unique approach to tackle
some of the most critical challenges in precision medicine. To
expand its pipeline further, Owkin intends to harness its AI
engines to supplement in-house drug discovery with in-licensed
assets in oncology, immunology, and inflammation.
About Owkin
Owkin is the first end-to-end TechBio unicorn on a mission to
understand complex biology and derive new multimodal biomarkers
through AI. We identify precision therapeutics, de-risk and
accelerate clinical trials and develop diagnostics using AI trained
on world-class patient data through privacy-enhancing federated
technologies. We merge wet lab experiments with advanced AI
techniques to create a powerful feedback loop for accelerated
discovery and innovation in oncology, cardiovascular disease,
immunity and inflammation. Owkin also founded MOSAIC, the world’s
largest spatial multiomics atlas for cancer research. Owkin has
raised over $300 million through investments from leading biopharma
companies, including Sanofi and BMS, and venture funds like
Fidelity, GV and Bpifrance, among others.
About Idorsia
Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more – We have more ideas, we
see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order
to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into a leading
biopharmaceutical company, with a strong scientific core.
Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland – a European biotech-hub –
Idorsia is specialized in the discovery, development and
commercialization of small molecules to transform the horizon of
therapeutic options. Idorsia has a 25-year heritage of drug
discovery, a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline,
an experienced team of professionals covering all disciplines from
bench to bedside, and commercial operations in Europe and North
America – the ideal constellation for bringing innovative medicines
to patients.
Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol:
IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 750 highly qualified specialists
dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets.
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Stephanie Libous Director of Communications
stephanie.libous@owkin.com