Numerate to develop AI-driven clinical candidates for Takeda

US-based biotechnology company Numerate has entered a multi-year agreement with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Company to identify and deliver multiple clinical candidates.

The clinical candidates will be generated by applying Numerate’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery platform, from hit finding and expansion through lead design / optimisation and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) / toxicity modelling.

Under the deal, Numerate will carry out discovery programmes in order to identify clinical candidates for use in Takeda’s core therapeutic areas, such as oncology, gastroenterology and central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Numerate president and chief executive officer Guido Lanza said: "This is an ideal arrangement for Numerate because our team will be working largely independently while having the opportunity to leverage Takeda’s global experience, therapeutic area insights, and unique research and development (R&D) capabilities.

"We expect to produce multiple clinical candidates, while also continuing to refine, validate and expand our proprietary AI-driven platform as we work across a broad range of target types and drug design challenges."

Though the financial terms of the current agreement have not yet been disclosed, they include a combination of milestone payments and royalties that reflect the value of the clinical candidates being delivered.

In addition, Numerate has collaborated with independent international pharmaceutical company Servier to design small-molecule modulators of ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2), a target identified as physiologically significant in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure and arrhythmias.