On October 6, 2022 BenevolentAI (Euronext Amsterdam: BAI), a leading clinical-stage AI drug discovery company, reported that AstraZeneca, a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company, has selected an additional two novel targets to enter its drug portfolio, for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), resulting in two milestone payments to BenevolentAI (Press release, BenevolentAI, OCT 6, 2022, View Source [SID1234621770]).

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The long-term collaboration, initiated in 2019, combines BenevolentAI’s proprietary AI-enabled drug discovery platform, the Benevolent Platform, with AstraZeneca’s disease expertise to identify novel targets. The Platform is disease agnostic, meaning it can be applied to any disease and is capable of rapidly generating novel targets at scale. These latest milestones provide additional validation for BenevolentAI’s disease-agnostic approach, which has so far delivered five novel targets to AstraZeneca’s portfolio, two for CKD and three for IPF. The collaboration was also expanded for a further three years into two new disease areas — heart failure and systemic lupus erythematosus — in January 2022.

Through the collaboration, BenevolentAI integrates AstraZeneca’s data into its biomedical Knowledge Graph, which has the ability to rapidly normalise and contextualise a diverse range of external and internal data from numerous sources including, but not limited to, scientific literature, patents, genetics, chemistry and clinical trials. BenevolentAI and AstraZeneca scientists work side-by-side, using the Platform and Knowledge Graph to interrogate underlying disease mechanisms, frame and test hypotheses and rapidly identify novel targets. New knowledge generated through the disease programmes is also fed back into the Platform, improving the quality of future drug target predictions.

Joanna Shields, Chief Executive Officer at BenevolentAI, commented: "We are pleased that AstraZeneca has selected a further two novel targets from our collaboration to enter its portfolio. These milestones provide repeated validation of BenevolentAI’s drug discovery Platform, which has demonstrated significant momentum in identifying novel targets across a range of therapeutic indications. We look forward to further successes in our collaboration."

Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, commented: "In order to deliver the next wave of life-changing medicines it is important we identify the right drug targets that can transform disease. Our ongoing collaboration with BenevolentAI is helping us to uncover novel rare variants of complex diseases, such as IPF and CKD. By combining the power of AI with human expertise we are bringing new drug targets into our portfolio."

On October 6, 2022 Schrödinger (Nasdaq: SDGR), whose physics-based computational platform is transforming the way therapeutics and materials are discovered, reported a detailed review of its technology platform, the impact of this platform across a growing portfolio of collaborative and proprietary drug discovery programs, areas for future innovation, and the opportunities for value creation during its Platform Day today, October 6, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET (Press release, Schrodinger, OCT 6, 2022, View Source [SID1234621769]).

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"We have a 30-year history of continuing scientific innovation that has resulted in a very powerful technology platform that can accurately predict molecular properties by combining the accuracy of physics-based modeling with the speed of machine learning," said Ramy Farid, chief executive officer at Schrödinger. "Moreover, our physics-based methods allow us to extrapolate beyond characterized chemical space to find the molecules that are beyond the limits of current knowledge. We look forward to highlighting our work in the life sciences today."

New Collaboration with Lilly
Today Schrödinger also announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company. Under the terms of the agreement, Schrödinger will be responsible for the discovery and optimization of small molecule compounds addressing the target. Lilly will be responsible for the completion of preclinical development, clinical development and commercialization. Schrödinger will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive up to $425 million in discovery, development and commercial milestone payments. Schrödinger is also eligible to receive low single- to low double-digit royalties on net sales of any products emerging from the collaboration in all markets.

Collaborations and Proprietary Pipeline Update
Schrödinger is advancing a portfolio of 12 active collaboration projects and 18 proprietary programs. In today’s presentation, six case studies are being highlighted that demonstrate how Schrödinger leverages the platform to overcome molecular design challenges. These case studies include the following:

Discovery of a potential best-in-class acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) inhibitor program in collaboration with Nimbus Therapeutics; the program was acquired by Gilead and is progressing in a Phase 2b trial in patients with compensated cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
Discovery of a selective TYK2 inhibitor, NDI-034858, in collaboration with Nimbus Therapeutics, which is currently progressing in Phase 2b trials in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis
Discovery of MORF-057, an oral, small molecule ɑ4β7 inhibitor, in collaboration with Morphic Therapeutic, which is currently progressing in a Phase 2a trial in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis and is expected to enter a Phase 2b trial in the fourth quarter of this year
Discovery and development of Schrödinger’s proprietary MALT1 inhibitor, SGR-1505, which is expected to enter a Phase 1 clinical study in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma in the fourth quarter of this year
Discovery and development of Schrödinger’s proprietary CDC7 inhibitor, SGR-2921, which is advancing through IND-enabling studies to support a planned IND submission in the first half of 2023
Discovery and development of Schrödinger’s proprietary Wee1 inhibitor program, which is currently undergoing studies required for selection of a development candidate expected in the fourth quarter of this year
Opportunities for Future Innovation within the Platform
Schrödinger is highlighting the near- and longer-term opportunities for continued innovation of its physics-based computational platform. These opportunities include the following:

Increasing the number and type of discovery targets the platform can advance through hit identification (Hit ID), including structure-based drug discovery for nearly all targets and Hit ID for historically undruggable targets
Improving the effectiveness and efficiency with which the platform can advance targets through lead optimization, including more comprehensive support for ADME-Tox optimization and de novo design
Expanding the applicability of the platform to new high-value areas, including preclinical development and formulations, new modalities and materials design
"The metrics for all aspects of our business are positive – our software business is growing, our collaborations are increasing, we have more milestone and royalty opportunities than ever before, and we are expanding our proprietary pipeline," said Geoffrey Porges, MBBS., chief financial officer at Schrödinger. "We view our balanced business model as a strength and see significant opportunities for value creation from the platform in the near, medium and long term."

Event Information
Schrödinger’s Platform Day is a hybrid event, with limited in-person attendance available to members of the investment community, and a simultaneous webcast is available for individual investors and other interested parties who wish to join virtually.

The live presentation can be accessed under "News & Events" in the investors section of Schrödinger’s website, View Source and will be archived for approximately 90 days. To participate in the live webcast, please register for the event here. It is recommended that participants register at least 15 minutes in advance of the event.

On October 6, 2022 Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRNE, "Sorrento") reported that Dr. Mike A. Royal, Chief Medical Officer, will participate in an upcoming Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Panel Discussion that will focus on the great unmet need in non-small cell lung cancer and the potential of abivertinib, a novel, third-generation, EGFR/BTK inhibitor (Press release, Sorrento Therapeutics, OCT 6, 2022, View Source [SID1234621768]). Details are as follows:

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The KOL Panel Discussion will be archived and can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of Sorrento’s website under Events, where you can also learn more about the panel participants’ backgrounds and biographies. (Events Calendar – Sorrento Therapeutics).

On October 6, 2022 Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TPST), a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-class1 therapeutics that combine both targeted and immune-mediated mechanisms, reported that Dara Burdette, Ph.D., Senior Director of Discovery Research at Tempest, will present on the company’s TREX1 pipeline asset and will serve as chairperson for the "New Approaches to Solid Tumor Targeting" session at the Emerging Technologies for IO Targeting and Discovery Summit taking place October 13-14, 2022 in Boston, MA (Press release, Tempest Therapeutics, OCT 6, 2022, View Source [SID1234621765]).

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TREX1 Presentation

Dr. Burdette’s presentation will describe the company’s approach to identify and characterize novel small molecule inhibitors of the 3’-5’ DNA repair exonuclease, TREX1. TREX1 inhibits cGAS/STING signaling and is induced in tumor cells due to genetic instability or therapeutic intervention. Tempest’s program aims to generate an anti-tumor response through selectively activating the STING pathway in advanced metastatic cancers with orally available small molecule inhibitors of TREX1.

Presentation details:

In addition, Nicholas DeVito, M.D., a medical oncologist and medical instructor in the laboratory of Dr. Brent Hanks, M.D., Ph.D. at Duke University School of Medicine, will be giving a presentation describing pre-clinical results with TPST-1495, Tempest’s clinical-stage dual inhibitor of the EP2 and EP4 prostaglandin E2 receptors, in mice bearing tumors with designated gene expression profiles.

On October 6, 2022 Imvax, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing personalized, whole tumor-derived immunotherapies, reported two poster presentations at the 2022 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) Meeting in Boston, MA, from November 10-12, 2022 (Press release, Imvax, OCT 6, 2022, View Source [SID1234621762]).

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At the meeting, Imvax will present data providing new insights into the mechanism of action of the company’s most advanced product candidate, IGV-001, for the treatment of glioblastoma. The company also will share in vivo data supporting the antitumor activity of Imvax’s tumor-derived immunotherapy platform for ovarian, liver and bladder cancers.