Firms in U.S., China Align on Research

Two U.S. companies using AI and biotechnology to find ways to fight aging announced deals to expand their research, according to a story in Forbes Magazine.

Insilico Medicine, a Baltimore company, is collaborating with WuXi AppTech in Shanghai, China on testing newly found molecules developed to fight the aging process and age-related diseases.

Another firm, AgeX Therapeutics, a California-based subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., which focuses on extending the human lifespan through understanding the mechanics of human aging, closed a $5 million equity financing deal by selling 2 million AgeX common shares to Juvenescence Ltd., a UK company focused on longevity.

The AI company Insilico Medicine specializes in using deep learning to target identification, drug discovery and aging research. WuXi is a global outsourcing provider based in Shanghai that serves the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries.

“This collaboration brings us closer to developing more therapies to help us combat age-related disease,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, CEO of Insilico Medicine to Forbes. “But I think this really shows that China is becoming a bigger player in AI. The emergence of China in AI—in research in particular—shows they are no longer a follower. So the U.S. needs to invest in AI and biotech more than in military or trade wars that only make geo-political tensions worse. Investing in biotech benefits everyone on the planet.”

Zhavoronkov said AI and regenerative medicine are expected to play a larger role in research for drug development. Juvenescence raised $63 million from international investors for such efforts.

Illustration of the Insilico Medicine development process.