DNDi and Atomwise collaborate to advance drug development using AI for neglected diseases

Efforts to discover novel compounds against Chagas disease see early successes – part of Atomwise’s Artificial Intelligence Molecular Screen (AIMS) Awards programme to fast track drug development.

Atomwise, Inc., a biotech company using artificial intelligence (AI) for drug discovery, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit research and development organization working to deliver new treatments for neglected diseases, today announced that promising drug-like compounds have been discovered in a programme to develop first-in-class treatments for Chagas disease. The research collaboration is part of Atomwise’s Artificial Intelligence Molecular Screen (AIMS) Awards programme.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 6-7 million people in the world have Chagas disease. Approximately 30% of those with Chagas disease develop life-threatening cardiac, digestive, or neurological disorders.

DNDi scientists selected three verified but challenging therapeutic protein targets that would inhibit the action of the parasite that causes Chagas disease. For each disease protein, Atomwise screened millions of compounds using its AI-powered screening technology to predict those that bind and potentially inhibit protein function. This research has delivered drug-like compounds that will now go on to further optimization and then potential drug development.

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