Healx and Sanofi unite to probe new disease indications

Healx is an AI-enabled, clinical-stage biotech company and was named Life Science AI champion at September’s Business Weekly Awards.

In the latest development, it will use a Sanofi compound to identify the new disease indications using Healnet, Healx’s AI-driven drug discovery platform. Sanofi will provide data related to a late stage discontinued asset that is being considered for out-licensing. Financial terms of the partnership are not disclosed.

Healx co-founder Tim Guilliams says: “Today, only 5 per cent of rare diseases have an approved treatment. At Healx, our mission is to ensure that no potential therapy is overlooked.

“This collaboration is a testament to the strength of our platform in potentially identifying new rare disease indications and we are delighted to partner with Sanofi to unlock the power of our unique AI toolset in the service of patients in need.”

Healx has built a suite of technologies to rapidly identify and progress new therapies for some of the 95 per cent of rare diseases currently without an approved treatment.

As well as leveraging Healnet to identify novel rare disease indications from integrated, large scale, complex biological information, Healx will also deploy its extensive drug discovery and development expertise to provide Sanofi with an innovative, AI-driven therapeutic rationale to support the compound’s future development.

Healnet incorporates recent advances in generative AI to find connections between biological and chemical entities that could be turned into new treatments.

Michael Palladinetti, global head of business development, Sanofi, said: “We are pleased to see Healx harness the power of AI in identifying new disease indications for this discontinued program, particularly in the area of rare diseases.

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to innovative approaches that can accelerate the discovery of potential transformative therapies, addressing unmet needs and offering hope to patients with limited treatment options.”

There are 10,000 known rare diseases that affect 400 million people across the globe, but only five per cent of those conditions have an approved treatment.

By combining generative AI technology with deep drug discovery and development expertise, Healx can accelerate the pace, increase the scale and improve the chance of success of rare disease treatment development to deliver global patient impact.

Healx was founded in Cambridge UK by Tim Guilliams, a biochemical engineer and tech entrepreneur, and David Brown – co-inventor of Viagra and former global head of drug discovery at Roche. Healx has raised approximately $110 million to date.