On January 5, 2022 Polaris Quantum Biotech (POLARISqb), a NC-based quantum computing drug design company, and PhoreMost Limited, a UK-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing drugs against intractable disease targets, reported a collaboration to study oncology targets currently considered undruggable (Press release, PhoreMost, JAN 5, 2022, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/polarisqb-and-phoremost-announce-a-multi-target-collaboration-to-investigate-next-generation-cancer-therapies-301454055.html [SID1234598299]).
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Under the terms of the agreement, the POLARISqb Tachyon quantum computing platform will be used to scan billions of molecules from a large chemical space, to find novel molecular drugs, based on the information obtained from PhoreMost’s SITESEEKER phenotypic screening platform. Together, this partnership aims to discover and develop the next generation of oncology therapies.
PhoreMost’s novel target-identification platform, SITESEEKER, rapidly identifies unexpected or "cryptic" druggable sites across the entire genome, within targets previously considered undruggable, using the inherent shape diversity and disease functionality of PROTEINi (protein interference) protein-fragment libraries in live cells. POLARISqb has built the first ever drug discovery platform using a quantum computer, Tachyon, which has the potential to drastically shorten the drug discovery process. By utilizing the increased power of quantum computers, POLARISqb is able to perform combinatorial optimizations in minutes that would take classical supercomputers months or even years to complete, leading to reduced drug development timelines and more efficient research.
"This collaboration is a significant milestone for POLARISqb," said Dr. Shahar Keinan, POLARISqb CEO. "Quantum Computing technology is coming of age, allowing us to revolutionize drug discovery timelines and budgets, while improving the overall profile of the designed drugs.. The experience and speed of PhoreMost’s technology is a great match to POLARISqb and we are excited to work together."
Dr Chris Torrance, CEO, PhoreMost, commented: "This partnership represents the ultimate ambition for any collaboration between biology and technology, where the full diversity of newly identified druggable disease targets generated by biological PROTEINi shape-libraries can now be married to the most logical and rapid method of finding small-molecule drugs to them. This best-in-class intersection of biotech and AI is going to be an exciting and transformative milestone for the entire pharmaceutical industry."