Algorae Pharmaceuticals teams with Peter MacCallum Centre to validate AI-predicted cancer drug synergies
Algorae Pharmaceuticals (ASX: 1AI) has partnered with the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics (VCFG) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne to validate AI-predicted drug synergies using high-throughput screening.
The companies will conduct a study to confirm the efficacy of drug combinations and dose ranges across four distinct cancer cell lines including glioblastoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, invasive breast carcinoma and prostate carcinoma.
The study will evaluate 24 drug candidates — 21 of which have been completely AI-generated using the Algorae Operating System (AlgoraeOS) — on the centre’s advanced screening platform, which includes proprietary high-throughput and synergy assessment technologies.
Regulatory pathways
Pre-clinical screening will empirically test AlgoraeOS predictions and provide essential data to support regulatory and commercial pathways.
The program will complete its data analysis within three weeks of each screen run, with the full dataset expected within six months, integrating key decision points into the process to ensure data quality and optimise future testing.
A successful collaboration could support the advancement of selected candidates towards clinical studies, as well as out-licensing or partnership opportunities with major pharmaceutical companies and expansion of the discovery pipeline into additional therapeutic areas.
Validating the approach
Algorae executive chair David Hainsworth said partnering with VCFG would be an important step in validating Algorae’s AI-driven approach.
“By leveraging AI to predict synergistic drug interactions, we are endeavouring to accelerate the drug discovery process and expand our pipeline,” he said.
Mr Hainsworth said successful validation of AI-predicted drug combinations had the potential to significantly de-risk their further development.
World-leading facility
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world-leading research, education and treatment facility that currently treats more than 47,000 patients every year.
It is Australia’s only public health service solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.
The VCFG was established in 2008 as an internationally recognised technology platform co-supported by the Australian government through its National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
The platform enables advanced high-throughput screening via gene and drug targeting strategies coupled with innovative image analytics.