Absci Corp., a Vancouver, Wash.-based company that uses AI to develop drugs, is partnering with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to create up to six novel cancer therapeutics using generative artificial intelligence.
The company and the New York-based cancer research center say they plan to combine Absci’s AI and wet lab technologies with Memorial Sloan Kettering’s oncology expertise to co-develop the therapeutics, and better understand the potential for AI to help in the fight against cancer.
MSK will identify cancer targets, and Absci will design antibodies to bind to those targets using artificial intelligence, according to a report report Monday morning by ZDNet, which said the partnership began with talks at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco in January.
It’s part of a broader trend of companies and researchers using AI for drug discovery and development. The confluence of AI and life sciences expertise have made the Pacific Northwest an emerging hub in the field.
Absci has existing collaborations with major companies and research institutes including AstraZeneca, Merck, and NVIDIA, but this partnership with a non-profit research institute is the first of its kind for the company.
The company was founded in 2011 by its CEO, molecular and cellular biologist Sean McClain, at the age of 22. Absci has been publicly traded on the Nasdaq since its initial public offering in 2021.
