Frontier IP Group PLC (LON:FIPP) has noted that portfolio company Exscientia, a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) driven drug discovery, is to progress compounds that could rapidly become viable drugs for treating coronavirus (COVID-19) in a joint initiative with Diamond Light Source and Calibr, a division of Scripps Research (USA).
Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, said that through the transatlantic alliance, Exscientia has gained access to Calibr's collection of 15,000 clinically-ready molecules, those which have already been shown to be safe for use in humans or have passed pre-clinical safety studies.
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It said Exscientia will start by rapidly screening the entire collection to identify existing compounds that could be repurposed to tackle COVID-19. In the longer term, and the company plans to use its AI to design even more effective compounds.
Exscientia has been working with Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron facility funded by the government, and the University of Oxford since January 2020 on the project.
Frontier IP holds a 3.3% equity stake in Exscientia.
Frontier IP chief executive, Neil Crabb commented: "Exscientia's aim is to use its AI to discover new, effective drugs quickly and efficiently, and we are optimistic the Company can make a significant contribution to the global fight against COVID-19.”
He added: "Other of our portfolio companies are directly involved in support efforts to combat COVID-19. These include The Vaccine Group, which is developing animal vaccines to combat the disease and related coronaviruses to prevent their future spread from animals into humans, and Elute Intelligence Holdings, which is using its technology to support scientists needing to sift complex datasets to identify the most relevant research for their work."
In morning trading on Wednesday, Frontier IP shares were 5.6% higher at 66.50p.