ElevateBio has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to expedite the discovery and development of gene editing therapeutics using generative AI (genAI).
The multi-year collaboration between the two companies will see ElevateBio combine its gene editing technologies and large clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) dataset with AWS’s advanced computing framework.
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US-based ElevateBio offers a range of platforms to help companies create cell and gene therapies, starting from the discovery step through to commercialisation. The company’s gene editing and R&D business, ElevateBio Life Edit, includes a gene editing platform, cell and RNA engineering technologies, and a therapeutic delivery platform.
Now, genAI capabilities will be added to that roster courtesy of the partnership with AWS. Its machine-learning platform SageMaker will be applied to Life Edit to enhance its protein language models (PLMs) at scale. ElevateBio states this will increase the speed of analysis and interpretation of large amounts of data to create new CRISPR systems. A proof-of-concept study between the two companies has already shown that AWS’s tools expanded protein discovery capabilities whilst simultaneously decreasing costs, according to ElevateBio.
CRISPR uses gene-editing technology to modify or correct DNA sequences, providing an opportunity to treat genetic disorders. Casgevy, a sickle cell treatment developed by Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics, became the first CRISPR therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2023. With AWS on board, ElevateBio says that it can design high-level CRISPR proteins with improved therapeutic potential both for partners and internal pipeline development. The company’s technology also benefitted from $401m in Series D financing in June 2023.
ElevateBio’s CEO David Hallal said: “The first wave of CRISPR therapies has focused on a small number of monogenic diseases caused by single-gene mutations.
“By bringing together AWS’s powerful cloud computing and AI solutions with our CRISPR dataset, we are taking on the challenge of expanding CRISPR’s application to thousands of more complex monogenic disorders as well as polygenic diseases, paving the way for potentially curative treatments across therapeutic areas,” Hallal added.
ElevateBio is not the only company AWS has teamed up with in the pharmaceutical space. Merck & Co (MSD) has been working with AWS since 2021 for cloud migration services, including creating a platform to improve product yield and generate insights into the company’s drug product automatic visual inspection processes. Novartis has also collaborated with AWS to improve analytics and enhance business operations.
Across the industry, AWS is just one of many tech companies forging unions with pharmaceutical companies. There have been several big-dollar deals and fundraising rounds in recent years regarding the use of AI in drug discovery. At this pre-clinical stage, AI can reduce costs, accelerate timelines, and produce more effective drug candidates.
