Kantify is a pre-clinical tech-bio company headquartered in Belgium, dedicated to improving human health through artificial intelligence (AI). Specializing in AI-driven drug discovery, Kantify focuses on rare diseases and cancer. As a key partner in the DREAMS project, Kantify leads Work Package 2, “AI for Common Drug Targets and Other Diseases with Shared Characteristics,” and Work Package 4, “Candidate Selection: Repurposable and Novel Drugs in Cellular Model’s”.
The role of Kantify to Advancing Research on Rare Diseases
The main goal of DREAMS is to significantly accelerate the discovery and preclinical validation of small molecule drugs for five rare neuromuscular disorders in a tight timeframe of 5 years. Achieving this ambitious goal relies heavily on the combination of innovative approaches and technologies, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing a pivotal role as a key technology powering DREAMS’ discovery platform.
The use of AI will enable DREAMS to overcome the key challenges of drug discovery, including managing risks, reducing costs, and shortening timelines.
Kantify is at the forefront of all AI-related initiatives within the DREAMS project. More specifically, the role of Kantify will be to leverage its novel AI algorithms, combined with the high-quality data generated by DREAMS partners, to speed up the drug discovery process.
‘Sapian‘ Cutting-Edge AI Platform Transforming Drug Discovery
Central to Kantify’s efforts is Sapian innovative AI-based drug discovery platform. Sapian consists of a suite of foundational models to tackle fundamental challenges in small molecule drug discovery. By inventing novel models and methodologies that diverge from conventional drug discovery algorithms, Sapian has achieved remarkable success in various indications and targets, including neuromuscular disorders. Its unique methodologies offer leading-edge performance in identifying novel therapeutic targets, discovering hits, and predicting ADMETox (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity).
Advanced AI Models for Target Discovery and Drug Candidate Selection
DREAMS will leverage Kantify’s AI/Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in innovative ways to achieve the following:
Target Discovery
Discovering which drug targets are involved in diseases remains a significant challenge in drug discovery, especially for rare diseases. Kantify’s ‘Sapian.Target‘ algorithm addresses this challenge by identifying druggable protein targets related to specific biological processes or diseases. In DREAMS, Sapian.Target will be leveraged to identify targets that are common to a set of indications.
Drug Discovery
Finding a potent molecule for a specific target is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, these molecules must be safe, avoiding any unwanted toxicity or side effects. The ‘Sapian.Hit‘ algorithm identifies compounds that interact with the targets of interest. It uses a novel approach with proven effectiveness across various targets, enabling the discovery of drugs for a wide range of diseases.
Additionally, Sapian.Hit can find both repurposable compounds and new molecular entities. In DREAMS, Sapian.Hit will be used to find molecules that are potent for a set of neuromuscular disorders (not only one neuromuscular disorder). This will be complemented by Sapian.Ward which can predict ADMETox effects of small molecules.
How Kantify’s Involvement Supports the Objectives of the DREAMS Project
DREAMS is a very ambitious research project that would not be possible without the contribution of Artificial Intelligence. Thanks to its novel AI powered methodology, DREAMS has the potential to create a new paradigm in rare diseases drug discovery where AI will enable us to:
- Accelerate the time to target discovery
- Accelerate the time to molecule discovery
- Lower the costs for target and molecule discovery
- Decrease the risk of failure linked to unwanted off-target effects and toxicity
“Thanks to the support from the European Commission through Horizon Europe, DREAMS is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how AI can genuinely help rare disease patients and transform rare disease drug discovery. We believe this project can make a significant scientific and societal impact, which is incredibly exciting. DREAMS aligns perfectly with Kantify’s mission to improve human health through artificial intelligence, making this project particularly inspiring for us.”
Ségolène Martin, CEO of Kantify
The Kantify team visiting I-stem partner in 2022. © Jean-Yves Seguy
