Genialis Advances Precision Medicine Solutions for Diseases of Unmet Need

Company builds partnerships, adds to the scientific and technology teams to drive new solutions for patients worldwide

SAN RAMON, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#aiml—Genialis, a leader in applied data science for the development of precision medicines, today announced multiple accomplishments in its mission to help discover, develop and position new therapies for the benefit of patients fighting complex diseases. Over the course of the year, Genialis initiated collaborations with numerous cutting edge biopharma, including Checkmate Pharmaceuticals and Oncologie, as well as renowned biotechnology leader Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Genialis began 2019 with a landmark event: the official launch of the Alliance for AI in Healthcare (AAIH) at Biotech Showcase held during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The AAIH is the first industry advocacy organization dedicated to promoting responsible adoption and use of artificial intelligence to improve healthcare outcomes, from drug discovery to medical devices, point of care to payor efficiencies. Genialis is a founding member of the AAIH, with the company’s chief executive officer, Rafael Rosengarten, Ph.D., serving as a committee chair in 2019. Dr. Rosengarten will participate in an AAIH panel, titled, “The Impact of AI: How AI and ML are transforming R&D”, during this year’s Medtech Showcase on January 13, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. The panel discussion is open to the public and free of charge with a reception to follow. RSVP and more information is available here.

With the work initiated in 2019 with partners like Checkmate and Oncologie, as well as others, the goal has been to leverage RNA sequencing and clinical trial outcomes data to model gene signatures that stratify patients based on predicted drug response. Along the way, these collaborations invariably have led to insights into the biological mechanisms of the target diseases and therapeutics. In addition to the work with biopharma, Genialis and Thermo Fisher Scientific struck up a collaboration to provide the scientific community with a comprehensive set of tools for RNA sequencing, from library prep to data analytics. Genialis also expanded its institutional partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, which recently dedicated a Therapeutic Innovation Center (THINC) to translating laboratory discoveries into pharmaceutically actionable ones.

“Even with sophisticated data science, drug discovery and development remains a long road. Nevertheless, we are seeing more and more instances where tools like machine learning can overcome typical bottlenecks, such as analyzing large datasets to optimize the deployment of new drugs,” said Dr. Rosengarten. “This year, Genialis looks forward to continuing on, or in some cases just beginning, the clinical journey with our partners to find precision medicine solutions that can benefit patients with the most urgent need.”

These new and expanded collaborations, as well as internal R&D goals, have motivated some additions to the scientific and technology teams. First, Luka Ausec, Ph.D. was recently promoted to the role of Chief Discovery Officer, uniting the work under his purview across partnerships, products and projects. Second, Genialis has added Bruce Lefker, Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Lefker is a medicinal chemist with 30 years of experience at Pfizer, and a more recent focus on the interface between traditional discovery methodologies and cutting edge data science. As an industry veteran, Dr. Lefker has already demonstrated real impact on Genialis’ work with partners and internal efforts.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with Genialis to integrate disparate data types and enhance clients’ ability to make informed decisions about which targets to pursue, and how to efficiently prosecute the selected targets,” said Dr. Lefker. “By integrating data and utilizing Genialis’ cutting edge AI and machine learning approaches, we are well-positioned to make a significant impact on this key objective.”

In addition to the AAIH panel, during the 2020 J.P. Morgan Conference, Genialis will also co-sponsor an event with the MIT Club of Northern California. This reception will gather industry experts in drug discovery to discuss how they use AI to develop novel molecules, improve high-throughput screening, optimize clinical trials, and enable unprecedented advances in precision medicine. The following week, Genialis will attend the Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC) to present its work on predictive models for patient stratification on January 22 in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information on Genialis, please visit www.genialis.com

About Genialis

Genialis is a data science and drug discovery company focused on new ways to treat disease. Blending computational biology and AI-based methods, Genialis merges and models data at the intersection of clinical and translational medicine. Genialis is trusted by biopharma and big pharma alike, to identify targets, predict biomarkers and optimally position novel drugs. Together, Genialis and its partners work to bring improved solutions to drug discovery to change people’s lives.

Contacts

Andrea Vuturo

[email protected]
415-689-8414