admin

Leading Chemistry and Drug Development Researchers Alexander Tropsha, Ph.D. and Robert N. Young, Ph.D. Join SAB Vancouver, BC – April 5, 2022 – Variational AI, developer of state-of-the-art generative AI technology to redefine the economics of drug development by accelerating the discovery of novel and optimized small molecule therapeutics, today announced that it has added industry leaders Alexander Tropsha, Ph.D. and Robert N. Young, Ph.D.  to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Alexander Tropsha is a K.H. Lee Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Chief Domain Scientist for Molecular Informatics at the Renaissance Computing Institute, UNC-Chapel Hill. He has extensive expertise in computational chemistry, structural bioinformatics and cheminformatics, which brings together chemistry and computer science to assist in the discovery of new drugs. He has authored more than 260 peer-reviewed papers as well as 25 books and chapters. In addition to serving as pharmacy professor, Dr. Tropsha is also an adjunct professor for the UNC Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science and is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Tropsha is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical…

Industry Veteran to Lead Company’s Therapeutic Development Vancouver, BC – March 15, 2022 – Variational AI, developer of state-of-the-art generative AI technology to redefine the economics of drug development by accelerating the discovery of novel and optimized small molecule therapeutics, today announced that Peter Guzzo, Ph.D., has joined the company as vice president, head of drug discovery. Guzzo has spent his 25-year career focused on finding innovative therapeutics for poorly treated diseases and will work on translating hits for various important biological targets discovered through Variational AI’s proprietary generative AI platform into candidate compounds for clinical development. Peter has knowledge in multiple therapeutic indications, including oncology, central nervous system diseases, metabolic disorders, intellectual property creation and building entrepreneurial teams. He is an inventor on 43 patents, co-author of 47 scientific publications and has presented 28 invited lectures. During his career, he has led cross-functional teams, delivering 11 innovative drugs into clinical development. He has extensive experience collaborating with pharma, biotech, academic institutions and contract research organizations to execute drug discovery and development projects. Guzzo most recently served as vice president, drug development at Tryp Therapeutics, Inc. and senior vice president of drug discovery and development at SciMount Therapeutics, co-founder and…

AI-Generated Antiviral is Intended to Treat Variants of Concern Such as Omicron and Delta Vancouver, BC – December 15, 2021 – Variational AI, developer of state-of-the-art generative AI technology to redefine the economics of drug development by accelerating the discovery of novel and optimized small molecule therapeutics, today announced the company has generated and ordered compounds for validation in partnership with the University of British Columbia (UBC) and adMare BioInnovations to develop a novel SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (3CLpro) inhibitor. The therapeutic is intended to be efficacious against the wild type and current variants of concern, including Delta and potentially Omicron, in the form of an antiviral pill. The COVID-19 drug discovery program is funded by Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster, which is supported by the Canadian Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry. “The Variational AI team is honored to partner with the University of British Columbia and adMare BioInnovations to work to address this most urgent medical need,” said Handol Kim, co-founder and CEO, Variational AI. “As society continues to grapple with COVID-19 variants, it is more important than ever to leverage the power of machine learning to accelerate our drug discovery efforts.” Variational AI has trained its generative AI algorithm…

Vancouver, BC – November 17, 2021 – Variational AI, developer of state-of-the-art generative AI technology to redefine the economics of drug development by accelerating the discovery of novel and optimized small molecules, today announced that it has raised $US3.5 million ($CDN4.3 million) in seed funding. The investment round was led by Flying Fish Ventures, Alliance of Angels and A&E Investments, with participation from Lip-Bu Tan and Amarjit Gill, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, investors and advisors.