Swiss AI startup Atlast Bio got $12.5 million in funding led by Creandum on Tuesday. The company uses an AI model trained on two million human RNA readouts to run virtual drug trials. This new method aims to replace animal testing and long trials, with first results expected within 6 weeks.
Synopsis
An AI foundation model, trained on about two million human RNA readouts, would replace these and animal testing with 12-week simulations, the company said.
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ZURICH: Swiss AI start-up Atlast Bio, which runs drug trials on virtual patients, has received $12.5 million in funding led by Swedish venture capital firm Creandum, an early backer of Spotify and Trade Republic, the company said on Tuesday.
* Atlas Bio is aiming to replace Phase II drug trials, which it says cost more than $100 million, take two to three years and see about 70% of drugs fail at that stage
* An AI foundation model, trained on about two million human RNA readouts, would replace these and animal testing with 12-week simulations, the company said
* Virtual trials can also evaluate drugs across multiple diseases simultaneously, something not feasible in conventional clinical trials, Atlas Bio added
* Results from a first trial are expected within 6 weeks
* Atlas Bio was founded by former Google employees alongside AI and pharmaceutical specialists
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