In a significant move to advance AI-driven drug discovery, AION Labs and BioMed X Institute have launched a global search for scientific talent to develop a revolutionary computational platform for multispecific biologic drugs. The initiative, announced on March 3, 2025, seeks to establish a new startup focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to identify and validate molecular target combinations.
The venture studio, backed by pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer, and Teva, along with Israel Biotech Fund, Amiti Ventures, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), aims to address a critical gap in current drug development approaches. While multi-functional drug modalities have shown promising clinical outcomes in treating complex diseases, the industry still relies heavily on traditional, single-target discovery methods.
Transforming Target Discovery Through AI Innovation
Dr. Yair Benita, CTO of AION Labs, emphasized the transformative potential of this initiative: "AI is transforming biologic drug design, enabling the discovery of drugs that modulate multiple proteins simultaneously. To fully harness this progress, we must identify the right target combinations for multispecific biologics."
The proposed AI-driven platform will prioritize novel target combinations based on three critical factors:
- Disease relevance
- Biomarker predictability
- On-target adverse reaction risks
The technology will focus on therapeutic areas with significant unmet needs, including oncology, cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) diseases, and immune-mediated disorders.
Advanced Computational Approach to Drug Development
Current target discovery methods rely heavily on expert-driven hypotheses, literature reviews, and fragmented experimental data generated from single-target studies. The new AI platform aims to revolutionize this approach by:
- Systematically analyzing large-scale biomedical data
- Uncovering complex molecular interactions
- Proposing optimized target combinations that may be overlooked by traditional methods
- Reducing the risk of off-target adverse effects
Global Talent Search and Application Process
AION Labs is seeking applications from:
- Computational biologists
- Bioinformatics scientists
- AI and machine learning professionals
- Experts in target identification
- Disease biology combination pathway specialists
Interested candidates can submit their project proposals through the BioMed X Career Space until May 05, 2025. The selected team will be based at AION Labs' headquarters in Rehovot, Israel, where they will receive guidance from pharmaceutical industry partners and access to extensive resources.
The initiative represents a significant step forward in the integration of AI technologies with drug discovery, potentially accelerating the development of more effective treatments for complex diseases while reducing development risks and costs.
