Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD; NYSE: MRK) has embarked on a collaborative project with Canadian company Variational AI to leverage the latter’s generative AI-powered model for drug discovery initiatives. Through this partnership, MSD will have early access to Variational AI’s platform, which utilizes text prompts to generate novel small molecules targeted at specific areas of interest, based on the described chemical properties of the potential candidates.
Variational AI’s innovative technology revolutionizes the drug discovery process by eliminating the need for chemists to develop their own generative AI models. This approach allows researchers to mitigate risks associated with early-stage drug discovery by rapidly generating novel, diverse, selective, and synthesizable lead-like structures within days.
The collaboration is further bolstered by the support of CQDM, Canada’s not-for-profit biopharmaceutical research consortium, which underscores the project’s alignment with the consortium’s mission to advance pharmaceutical research and development.- Flcube.com
