Evogene and Unravel Biosciences Partner to Develop First-in-Class Remyelination Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis
核心洞察
Evogene and Unravel Biosciences (搜索) have announced a collaboration to develop the first therapeutic designed to restore myelin and reverse neurological damage in demyelinating diseases (搜索) like multiple sclerosis (搜索).
The partnership combines Evogene's ChemPass AI generative chemistry platform with Unravel's BioNAV predictive biology platform and Living Molecular Twins patient data to accelerate drug discovery.
Multiple sclerosis (搜索) affects approximately 3 million people worldwide with no approved therapies currently available to effectively reverse myelin loss and restore neurological function.
Evogene Ltd. (搜索) and Unravel Biosciences (搜索) have launched a scientific collaboration to develop what could become the first therapeutic capable of restoring myelin and reversing neurological damage in demyelinating diseases (搜索), addressing a critical unmet medical need for millions of patients worldwide.
The partnership announced on January 7, 2026, brings together Evogene's ChemPass AI computational chemistry platform with Unravel's Predictable Medicine platform to accelerate the discovery and optimization of brain-penetrant small-molecule therapeutics for conditions like multiple sclerosis (搜索) (MS).
Addressing a Critical Unmet Need
Multiple sclerosis (搜索) affects approximately 3 million people worldwide, with numbers increasing each year. Current therapies focus primarily on slowing disease progression and blocking immune activity, but they fail to repair existing neurological damage. To date, no approved therapy has demonstrated the ability to effectively reverse myelin loss and restore neurological function, highlighting a significant gap in treatment options.
"Current therapies focus on slowing disease progression and blocking immune activity, but they do not repair existing damage," the companies stated, emphasizing the urgent need for remyelination therapies that can actually reverse neurological damage rather than simply halt its progression.
Combining AI-Powered Platforms
The collaboration leverages two complementary artificial intelligence platforms. Evogene's ChemPass AI serves as a proprietary generative AI engine designed to create novel, highly potent small molecules optimized across multiple critical parameters. This platform is coupled with Unravel's BioNAV predictive biology platform and Living Molecular Twins patient datamine, which uses advanced RNA-based network simulations and primary patient data to generate novel therapeutic insights and drug targets.
"The synergistic combination of Evogene's ChemPassAI engine and generative chemistry together with Unravel's patient RNA-derived Living Molecular Twins demonstrates the acceleration of drug development driven by novel data and advanced algorithms, since patients cannot wait," said Dr. Richard Novak, Unravel Biosciences (搜索)' CEO.
Novel Target Discovery and Optimization
The collaboration centers on designing and validating brain-penetrant inhibitors of a novel demyelination target discovered by Unravel's platform. By taking a function-first discovery approach, the partnership aims to gain unique biological insights from genetically defined demyelinating disorders and translate these discoveries to treat a broader range of such conditions.
ChemPass AI's advanced algorithms will work to decipher the molecular requirements for meaningful disease reversal, establishing key chemical and biological features that novel small molecules must possess to facilitate remyelination. The platform will advance lead candidates through generative AI-guided optimization based on experimental insights from Unravel's in vitro and in vivo systems and in silico clinical outcome simulation.
Leadership Perspectives
Ofer Haviv, Evogene's President and CEO, emphasized the clinical significance of the collaboration: "Unravel has achieved the critical, complex work of identifying and validating a novel, druggable target that can reverse demyelination. Our ChemPass AI engine, along with the generative model ChemPassGPT, is uniquely equipped to design and optimize novel small molecules to efficiently hit this target and ensure brain-penetrance required for clinical efficacy."
The partnership represents a convergence of cutting-edge computational approaches with urgent clinical needs, as both companies work to develop transformative treatments for patients who currently have limited therapeutic options.
Company Backgrounds
Evogene Ltd. (搜索) (Nasdaq/TASE: EVGN) specializes in computational chemistry and the generative design of small molecules for pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. The company's ChemPass AI platform is designed to improve success rates while reducing development time and costs in drug discovery.
Unravel Biosciences (搜索) operates as a clinical-stage therapeutics company with four clinical trials scheduled to begin in 2026. The company's proprietary platforms have already discovered RVL002, a first-in-class small molecule targeting mitochondrial metabolism (搜索) for neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, and RVL069 (搜索), which targets a novel mechanism for treating dystonias (搜索).