Drug Discovery (The Derby Mill Series ep 16)

Our hosts chat with Liran Belenzon, CEO and co-founder of BenchSci. Based in Toronto, BenchSci has raised more than $215-million to date, and is backed by such funds as former U.S. vice-president Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management, private and public markets investment giant TCV, Google-backed Gradient Ventures and F-Prime Capital Partners. More than half of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies are clients of BenchSci, which is officially known as Scinapsis Analytics Inc.

The company’s mission is to accelerate the speed and quality of life-saving R&D to improve patient health. This episode touches on the challenges and potential of using AI in drug discovery, emphasizing the importance of understanding disease biology and the need for significant investment in data collection and analysis. The name, BenchSci, is a reference to “bench science,” the fundamental laboratory research that uncovers the biological mechanisms underlying diseases and forms the foundation for drug discovery.

With machine intelligence, BenchSci seeks to automate hypothesis generation and experiment design by deeply analyzing scientific publications, preprints, and pharma data. Central to their approach is building a comprehensive knowledge graph that maps bio-entities such as genes, proteins, and diseases, along with their complex relationships.

GUESTS AND HOSTSLiran Belenzon, co-founder and CEO, BenchSciAjay Agrawal, co-founder and partner, Intrepid Growth PartnersRichard Sutton, senior advisor, Intrepid Growth Partners, 2024 Turing Award recipient, pioneer of reinforcement learning and professor, University of AlbertaSendhil Mullainathan, senior advisor, Intrepid Growth Partners, MacArthur Genius grant recipient and professor, MITNiamh Gavin, senior advisor, Intrepid Growth Partners, Applied AI scientist, CEO, Emergent Platforms

LINKSBenchSci explanation videoBenchSci websiteBenchSci ranked #29 on Deloitte’s 2024 Technology Fast 500™BenchSci named to The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top Growing Companies 2024 listLiran’s 2023 TechTO talk about fundraisingMentioned by Sendhil in this episode: Don R. Swanson, a pioneer in information scienceDerby Mill show websiteRich Sutton’s home page. Follow Rich on XRead Sendhil’s co-written journal on Machine Learning as a Tool for Hypothesis GenerationSendhil Mullainathan’s website. Follow Sendhil on XBe sure to catch every episode of The Derby Mill Series by subscribing on the following platforms:YouTube // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

DISCUSSION POINTS

00:00 Cold open and introductions01:33 R&D for drug discovery and BenchSci02:07 A shocking number of drug trials fail04:33 What BenchSci does and doesn’t do09:50 What kind of feedback is sent to BenchSci?14:09 Where does BenchSci fall on these extremes?16:39 Is BenchSci too ambitious?21:20 Niamh’s take25:37 Rich’s take27:15 Hypothesis generation29:31 What Niamh loves about AI34:47 Final remarks

NUGGETS

Small Changes in Drug Research Matter (1601)Intrepid's Sendhil Mullainathan explains why even a 1% improvement in drug trial success can be worth millions.

AI for Discovery (1602)Intrepid's Niamh Gavin shares how AI’s "global sweep" could unlock science’s blind spots.

AI’s Biggest Scientific Breakthrough (1603)Intrepid’s Sendhil Mullainathan explains the hidden obstacle holding back AI’s biggest scientific breakthroughs.

DISCLAIMER

The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as marketing, solicitation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities or investments. The opinions expressed in this video are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of Intrepid Growth Partners or its affiliates. Any discussion of specific companies, technologies, or industries is for illustrative purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to consult with their own financial, legal, and tax advisors before making any investment decisions.

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