On January 6, 2022 Odyssey Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering next generation precision immunomodulators and oncology medicines, reported that it has acquired Rahko, a leading quantum machine learning company, adding powerful new tools to Odyssey’s discovery platform to enable faster and more efficient drug discovery ((Press release, Odyssey Therapeutics, JAN 6, 2022, View Source [SID1234598312]).

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"This acquisition gives Odyssey the opportunity to pair artificial intelligence and physics-based methods with a team of master drug-hunters, a combination that is critical to elevating precision medicine and redefining what’s possible in drug development," said Gary D. Glick, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Odyssey Therapeutics. "Rahko’s powerful platform will play a direct role in identifying the best leads for our targets with unprecedented speed and accuracy, assisting with our efforts to address the undruggable genome with the goal of delivering transformational impact for patients with inflammatory diseases and cancer in record time."

Rahko was founded in 2018 by Leonard Wossnig, Ph.D., Edward Grant, Ph.D., Miriam Cha, and Ian Horobin, with financing from Balderton Capital. Rahko has built a quantum drug discovery platform that brings together three key technologies—computational chemistry, machine learning, and quantum computing—to drive a better understanding of the behavior of drugs. The quantum machine learning models in Rahko’s platform combine physics and machine learning, enabling faster and better chemical simulations, systematic limitation of prediction errors, and reduction of the amount of data required to create models. The dynamics of these proteins are explored using physics-based simulation methods that uncover novel binding sites such as cryptic pockets. This information is combined with structure-based generative machine learning methods to generate novel molecular candidates to rapidly start programs with the best possible chemistry. Odyssey is also combining Rahko’s quantum machine learning methods with functional genomics and other omics data to identify novel targets.

"Since Rahko’s founding, we have focused on removing key bottlenecks in drug discovery using quantum machine learning descriptors and models for best-in-class lead identification and optimization of drug candidates," said Leonard Wossnig, Ph.D., Co-Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Rahko, now Vice President of artificial intelligence at Odyssey Therapeutics. "The current renaissance in medicinal chemistry, new drug discovery technologies, and an expanded understanding of the drivers of immune dysfunction and cancer represent precisely the kind of unprecedented opportunity our platform was designed to maximize."

Odyssey has developed a strategy to create a portfolio of product candidates that will go beyond the limitations of current medicines and enhance the standard-of-care for patients living with inflammatory diseases and cancer. The company is focused on targets and mechanisms that control validated signaling nodes that drive diseases and will create medicines that achieve optimal product profiles for patients. In addition, Odyssey is applying its highly integrated drug hunting engine and class-leading computational and data sciences platform to challenging, high-value targets that have the potential to revolutionize treatment paradigms, but for which traditional discovery approaches have not succeeded.

In December 2021, Odyssey announced the completion of an oversubscribed $218 million Series A financing led by OrbiMed Advisors and co-led by SR One Capital Management with participation from Foresite Capital, Woodline Partners LP, Logos Capital, HBM Healthcare Investments, Colt Ventures, Creacion Ventures, and other institutional investors.