Safety first for Ignota Labs as it relocates AI-Pharma proposition to new Cambridge HQ
The company, which won the recent OxbridgeAI Challenge, specialises in revitalising drugs with safety issues using its AI platform, SAFEPATH.
SAFEPATH advances the understanding of the root causes of drug toxicity by utilising a causal knowledge graph. This graph intricately maps the relationships and pathways that lead to adverse drug reactions, enabling the identification and mitigation of potential safety issues in pharmaceutical drugs.
The approach is crucial for reevaluating drugs that have been previously shelved due to toxicity concerns – offering new insights into their safe and effective use.
Ignota Labs has set up at the Science Park’s Bradfield Centre. CSO Dr Jordan Lane (ex-AstraZeneca and BenevolentAI) told Business Weekly: “The move aligns with our mission of innovation and collaboration as the Centre is known for its vibrant tech and science community. This relocation supports the company’s long-term plans for growth, networking, and accessing a hub of technological and scientific expertise, fostering partnerships with Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical companies, accelerating their impact in the pharmaceutical industry.”
Ignota’s AI platform addresses all components of drug safety: Understanding safety in drug discovery is complex and problems can come in multiple shapes and sizes.
Different approaches, data and technologies are needed to tackle these complex problems. That’s why Ignota deploys a varied range of data-driven techniques to address the different components of drug safety, bringing them together in what is regarded as a unique platform.
Dr Lane grew up in Cambridge and now lives here and says it’s like coming home to relocate the business to the heart of the world-class Life Sciences Cluster.
CEO Sam Windsor is MBA INSEAD while ML engineer Dr Sara Masarone is a BSc and PhD from the Alan Turing Institute. Chief Data Science Officer, Dr Layla Hosseini-Gerami, is ex-Cambridge University where she was acclaimed for Outstanding Thesis of the Year.
The company also has some heavyweight advisers including Andreas Bender, a Professor at the University of Cambridge and co-founder at Healx and PharmEnable; Anne Phelan, CSO of BenevolentAI; Matt Segall, CEO at Optibrium and Simon Chell, VP Drug Discovery at AstraZeneca.
The Oxbridge AI Challenge which Ignota won is a collaborative initiative between the Oxford Artificial Intelligence Society and Cambridge University Entrepreneurs (CUE), to foster AI expertise and entrepreneurial talent.
• PHOTOGRAPH: Ignota Labs’ Cambridge team – Sam Windsor, Dr Sara Masarone, Dr Jordan Lane and Dr Layla Hosseini-Gerami. Credit – Leebecca Boodhun / Cambridge Science Park
