Pepticom secures investment for AI-driven peptide drug discovery

Israel-based Pepticom, which is engaged in using artificial intelligence (AI) for peptide drug discovery, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round from the Chartered Group.

Pepticom is a spin-out of Yissum, the technology transfer company of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The company’s artificial intelligence technology is said to optimize and significantly speed up the ability of researchers to discover advanced peptide-based drug candidates.

Immanuel Lerner – Founder and CEO of Pepticom said: “This $5 million investment by Chartered Group signals confidence in Pepticom’s technology and abilities going forward.

“Pepticom already improves discovery time by almost a year, and this investment will further reduce that time and thus improve time to market considerably.”

Pepticom bags investment from the Chartered Group to advance AI-driven peptide drug discovery. Image courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Used across different therapies, peptides are known for being highly selective and efficacious apart from being relatively safe.

According to Pepticom, the pharma industry has recently shown a growing interest in peptide research and development, resulting in a resurgence of peptide drug candidates. However, the process of discovering new peptides with lifesaving potential remains to be a costly and time-consuming affair.

Pepticom claims that its artificial intelligence technology enables the discovery of the most advanced peptide-based drug candidates by searching a vast set of possible solutions, thereby significantly cutting down the risk of failure during development.

The company’s technology is said to cover a chemical-space of 1030 possible molecular options, and can help in simultaneously filtering out the most appropriate candidates with properties like solubility, permeability, and others.

Furthermore, Pepticom says that its technology will reduce the cost of drug discovery.

The investment from Chartered Group is expected to enable the development of new AI models to further boost molecular discovery efficacy while decreasing the risk for the next stages of development.

Eyal Agmoni – Chairman of Chartered Group and High Tech division said: “We made this investment out of our belief in Pepticom’s application of AI in peptide drug discovery and the Israeli high-tech industry.

“Pepticom’s unique AI platform allows for multifaceted collaborations, and we are excited to join this company as it revolutionizes peptide drug discovery.  The funding will allow the further development of Pepticom’s unique technology and specific applications.”