PsychoGenics and Collaborations Pharmaceuticals awarded a $1M grant to use AI platforms to design new drugs for mental health disorders

PARAMUS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PsychoGenics Inc. (PsychoGenics) and Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPI) are pleased to announce that they were awarded a $1million Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, to use their combined AI tools to design new drugs for mental health disorders. This grant will enable both companies to collaborate on a groundbreaking project that responds to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) strategic plan aimed at the “Development and validation of new methods and technologies to advance the treatment of mental health disorders”. The companies will develop and apply machine learning (ML) tools to explore new areas of chemistry, with the ultimate aim of identifying treatments that target novel or multiple aspects of complex neuropsychiatric disorders.

Statistics reveal that approximately one in four individuals experiences a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime. These disorders encompass a wide spectrum, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders, impacting people of all age groups. Alarmingly, suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29-year-olds, with 10 to 20 million depressed individuals attempting suicide annually and approximately 1 million completing the act. Current treatment modalities inadequately address the intricate challenges posed by mental illness, contributing to nearly one-third of adult disability on a global scale. Hence, there exists an urgent and compelling need for enhanced treatments that unlock new avenues of pharmacological intervention.

Acknowledging the colossal burden of mental illness and the glaring gap in improved treatments, PsychoGenics and CPI will harness their AI-enabled phenotypic drug discovery approach along with their ML tools to explore uncharted areas of chemistry to discover new classes of drugs. PsychoGenics has been a trailblazer in the use of ML for drug discovery and the exploration of structure-activity relationships (SAR) through its innovative SmartCube® technology. SmartCube® employs ML classifiers trained on reference CNS drugs to predict a compound's therapeutic and side-effects profiles. On the other hand, CPI has developed a suite of ML software including Assay Central®, MegaTox®, MegaTrans®, MegaPredict®, and MegaSyn®, which generate new molecules exploring uncharted chemistry space while optimizing essential properties.

Dr. Daniela Brunner, Chief Innovation Officer at PsychoGenics, expressed her enthusiasm about this collaboration, stating, "We are honored to have been awarded this SBIR grant and delighted to collaborate with CPI on this groundbreaking project. By synergizing our strengths in behavioral pharmacology, drug discovery, and advanced ML techniques, we hold the potential to unlock new treatments, ultimately making a positive impact on the lives of patients."

Sean Ekins, CEO of CPI, added, "We eagerly anticipate this collaboration with Dani and her team at PsychoGenics to explore uncharted areas of chemistry. Our AI tools, combined with PsychoGenics’ Cube platforms and collective experience, render the ambitious goal of discovering new classes of drugs feasible."

About PsychoGenics:

PsychoGenics is a leading biotechnology company dedicated to revolutionizing drug discovery through PsychoGenics Inc. and its discovery arm, PGI Drug Discovery LLC (collectively known as PsychoGenics), have pioneered the translation of rodent behavioral and physiological responses into robust, high-throughput and high-content phenotyping. PsychoGenics’ drug discovery platforms SmartCube®, NeuroCube®, PhenoCube®, and eCube™, have been used in shared-risk partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies, including Sunovion, Roche and Karuna, resulting in the discovery of several novel compounds now in advanced preclinical development and clinical trials. PsychoGenics’ capabilities also include standard behavioral testing, electrophysiology, translational EEG, molecular biology, microdialysis, and quantitative immunohistochemistry. In addition, the Company offers a variety of in-licensed transgenic mouse models to support research in areas such as Huntington’s disease, autism spectrum disorders, psychosis/schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy, ALS and seizure disorders.

About Collaborations Pharmaceuticals:

Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has developed Assay Central^® software for data curation and machine learning as well as curated model collections such as MegaTox^®, MegaTrans^® and MegaPredict^®. Most recently they have developed MegaSyn for generative drug design. Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc. performs research and development on innovative therapeutics for multiple rare and neglected diseases. For more information, http://www.collaborationspharma.com/