AION Labs unites the pharma companies, technology and funds including IBF to invest in the start-up companies to integrate the developments in the field of cloud computing and artificial intelligence to improve the ability to develop medicines
AION Labs , the first innovation laboratory of its kind in the world and a pioneer in the process of adopting cloud technologies, artificial intelligence and computer science to solve the R&D challenges of the pharmaceutical industry, today announces its launch.
An alliance of four leading pharmaceutical companies - AstraZeneca, soup, Pfizer וnature - and two leading companies from the field of hi-tech and biotech investments, respectively -AWS (Amazon Web Services Inc) and the Israeli Investment Fund IBF (Israel Biotech Fund) - who joined together with the goal of establishing groundbreaking ventures in artificial intelligence and computer science to change the way new treatments are discovered and developed.
The establishment of the consortium of the leading global companies follows the winning of a government tender to establish an innovation laboratory in December 2020, afterInnovation Authority Defined life sciences as an essential field for growth and investment potential.
AION Labs will invest in startup teams that are at an early stage of their activity and focus on artificial intelligence and biotech in drug discovery and development. The innovation lab will offer startups unprecedented resources and guidance from mentors while working closely on the development of new technologies in response to the most urgent and significant challenges of the pharmaceutical industry. Each startup will harness the power of the cloud and artificial intelligence to help find new treatments more quickly and more efficiently, for example to avoid animal experiments, and to promote the field of health services for precision medicine that puts the patient at the center.
In addition, AION Labs also announces today that Mati Gil, formerly a senior manager at Teva Pharmaceuticals, has been appointed CEO of the laboratory, and that the person who managed computational biology at Compugen and was the head of scientific activity at CytoReason and a senior scientist at MSD, Yair Benita, Ph. D., was appointed VP of Technologies.
"We are excited to launch the new innovation lab for the benefit of drug and medical device discoveries using groundbreaking computational tools," said Mati Gil, CEO of AION Labs. "Thanks to our innovation model based on the challenges and needs of the industry, combined with the unique cooperation of the consortium members, we are prepared and ready to make a difference in the process of therapeutic discoveries and their development. With a strong talent pool from Israel and the world, cloud technology and artificial intelligence at the heart of our activity and a significant commitment from the State of Israel, we are prepared to contribute to the health and well-being of the human race and promote industry in Israel. I thank the partners for the trust, and it is an honor for me to lead such a significant initiative."
In addition, AION Labs announced a strategic partnership with X Biomed , an independent biomedical research institute operating in Heidelberg, Germany. BioMed X has a proven track record in promoting research innovations in the field of biomedicine at the interface between academic research and the pharmaceutical industry. BioMed X's innovation model, based on global crowdsourcing and incubators for nurturing the brightest talents and ideas, will serve as the R&D engine to drive AION Labs' venture creation model.
"We are excited to expand our successful innovation model to Israel," said Dr. Christian Tidona, founder and CEO of BioMed X. "In our opinion, Israel is currently in the best place to leverage the power of artificial intelligence for drug discovery and development in collaboration with the leading global players in the pharmaceutical arena , technology and risk capital".
AION Labs will include both a "wet" laboratory, where biomedical research will be performed, and a cloud-based computational laboratory environment, which will focus on the development of new algorithms and computational methods in order to accelerate the discovery and development of new potential treatments. Both will operate under the guidance of researchers and senior experts from among the AION Labs partners.
Pfizer: "AION Labs is an excellent example of the type of places where Pfizer aims to contribute to their construction through collaborations within the biopharma industry itself and between the various industries. The program embodies within itself the potential to accelerate the development of significant breakthroughs that may change the lives of patients," said Ube Schnebeck, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist for Emerging Science and Innovation at Pfizer. "We are excited and look forward to playing a central role in AION's activity to foster innovation."
AstraZeneca: Dr. Jim Weatherall, vice president of data science and artificial intelligence at AstraZeneca's R&D division, said: "Data, analytics and artificial intelligence are already beginning to change the way we discover and develop new medicines and I believe we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg of this promise. Through AION Labs, the possibility opens up to solve some of the biggest R&D challenges and to find new and better ways to discover, test and accelerate the potential drugs of tomorrow. I look forward to assisting in formulating the challenges and in selecting and accompanying the companies that will enter the laboratory."
soup: Dr. Yoran-Peter Halla, head of global research at Schlemmerk's health division: "AION Labs is built on long-term and successful investments in Israeli innovation. We are excited to work together with the partners to generate tangible value in the application of artificial intelligence for drug discovery and development in the biopreservatives industry and to make new drug discoveries a reality."
nature: "Teva is excited to collaborate with leading pharmaceutical, hi-tech and investment companies on the establishment of this unique biotech initiative for the development of innovative treatments," said Dr. Eran Harari, Head of Global R&D for Specialty Products at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The way we discover and develop new drugs is being transformed. Artificial intelligence technologies and collaborations between various industries will play an increasing role in the evolving revolution in the way we find solutions to unmet patient needs. We are especially proud to continue our innovative work with the ecosystem of Israeli healthcare and biotech and look forward to seeing the fruits of this new collaboration," added Dr. Harari.
AWS: "The launch of AION Labs will provide an opportunity for the healthcare and life sciences industry to uncover new ways to shorten the time and reduce the cost of medical discoveries, enable open collaboration and compatibility between systems, and ultimately improve health outcomes for patients. We are excited to support the startup companies at AION Labs with our expertise and the breadth and depth of AWS's secure, reliable and scalable services to help them tackle some of the biggest R&D challenges in drug discovery and development," said Dan Sheeran, Global Director of Services health and life sciences.
IBF: "We are excited to be a part of this first-of-its-kind innovation lab led by an amazing group of international pharma and technology companies," said Ido Tsari, founder and executive director of IBF. "The laboratory's dedication to improving the biotech industry by developing advanced technologies and solutions and implementing them in the world of pharma is in line with the goals of IBF."
The Innovation Authority: Dror Bin, CEO of the Innovation Authority: "The Innovation Authority congratulates the partners for establishing the innovative laboratory. The laboratory is part of the Authority's strategy to develop the ecosystem of researchers, entrepreneurs and companies in the emerging field of Bio convergence for groundbreaking innovative solutions in the field of future medicine and other fields. The integration of biology with the worlds of software, in which Israel is a global leader, will produce groundbreaking companies and an innovative world-class ecosystem"
