What's Happening?
Inductive Bio, in collaboration with Amgen, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, and Torch Bio, has received up to $21 million to develop AI models for predicting drug toxicity. This project, under the DATAMAP initiative, aims to create
human biology-based models to improve drug safety and reduce reliance on animal testing. The initiative is funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and focuses on drug-induced liver injury and cardiotoxicity. The project will use advanced organoids and human tissue systems to generate data, which will be used to build AI models for toxicity prediction.
Why It's Important?
The development of AI models for drug toxicity prediction is crucial for enhancing drug safety and reducing the high failure rate of clinical-stage drug candidates. Traditional animal testing often fails to predict human responses accurately, leading to late-stage failures. By leveraging human biology-based models, this initiative could accelerate the delivery of safe and innovative medicines, reduce development costs, and minimize the ethical concerns associated with animal testing. The project aligns with the FDA's directive to advance new methodologies in drug development.
What's Next?
The project will focus on validating the AI models with the FDA for regulatory applications. Amgen will provide real-world context and potential applications for novel therapies. The success of this initiative could lead to widespread adoption of AI models in drug development, potentially transforming preclinical safety assessments and reducing the reliance on animal testing.
