Exscientia, a Scotland-based drug developer spun out from University of Dundee, has raised €15m ($17.7m) in funding from drug discovery company Evotec.
The investment marks the first time Exscientia has received strategic funding, though its external shareholders include commercialisation firm Frontier IP, which gained a stake when it helped set up the spinout through its agreement with Dundee.
Founded in 2012 as Ex Scientia, the spinout uses artificial intelligence technology to automate the drug discovery process. Its platform learns from existing data resources and experimental data collected during each drug design cycle.
Essentially, the AI system emulates the approach a human researcher would use but at a much faster rate and with more complex models.
The funding will support further development of Exscientia’s platform and towards boosting the value of its partnership programs.
Evotec’s investment follows a collaboration agreement signed by the companies in early 2016 to develop immuno-oncology candidates. Mario Polywka, chief operating officer of Evotec, will join Exscientia’s board of directors in conjunction with the deal.
Andrew Hopkins, chief executive of Exscientia, said: “Exscientia and Evotec have built a close relationship over the past year sharing mutual interest in agile innovation.
“We are delighted that Evotec has made this investment for a minority equity stake, allowing Exscientia to deliver more drug discovery projects in a rapid and capital efficient manner.”
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.