Recursion Pharmaceuticals: where biology meets technology
Mar 15, 2023
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Chris Gibson, Co-founder and CEO of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, discusses how the company uses AI and robotics to create drugs efficiently for rare diseases. They have five drugs in clinical trials, including one for cerebral cavernous malformations. Recursion hopes to tackle a broader range of diseases in the future, improving millions of lives.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals utilizes AI and robotics for efficient drug discovery, focusing on rare diseases.
Company culture and innovation are crucial for Recursion's success in creating impactful medicines.
Deep dives
Recursion's Innovative Approach to Drug Discovery
Recursion Pharmaceuticals revolutionizes drug discovery using machine learning to test thousands of potential drug candidates against millions of disease models at scale, resulting in a faster, cheaper, and more successful approach to drug discovery. The company starts with all drugs and then forms hypotheses, allowing for quicker and more cost-effective results.
Chris Gibson's Vision and Leadership at Recursion
Chris Gibson, the co-founder and CEO of Recursion, brings a fresh perspective to biological drug discovery, departing from traditional methods. His focus on leveraging technology, such as robotics, machine learning, and AI, to map biology and chemistry sets Recursion apart in the industry. Gibson's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to a new technological path drive the company's success.
Recursion's Breakthroughs in Drug Development
Recursion's unique strategy focuses on areas with minimal industry competition, targeting diseases where traditional companies are not present at the clinical stage. By testing potential drug candidates against rare diseases, the company aims to bring effective medicines to underserved patient populations at lower costs. Recursion's approach challenges the traditional pharma model by venturing into unexplored territories of drug development.
Challenges and Opportunities for Recursion's Growth
As Recursion advances, the company faces the challenge of maintaining its innovative pace while collaborating with traditional industry players and regulators. Balancing the need for external expertise in areas like chemistry and clinical trials while preserving the core scientific focus presents a significant growth challenge. Recursion's journey involves navigating the complexities of drug development while staying true to its culture and mission for impactful innovation.
We speak to Recursion Pharmaceuticals about its use of artificial intelligence, data science, and robotics to create medicinal drugs more efficiently than before and at a lower cost.
In this episode, Recursion’s co-founder and CEO Chris Gibson tells Scottish Mortgage’s manager Tom Slater how the firm uses cutting-edge technologies to create novel insights about biology and chemistry that can lead to potential treatments. They discuss why Recursion’s methods mean it can target rare diseases, which might not make financial sense for more traditional drug companies to explore. In addition, they discuss the importance of company culture and taking time to onboard new recruits.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals was founded 10 years ago. It performs millions of experiments every week using high-precision robotics. Researchers then analyse the results using machine learning techniques to home in on promising drug candidates.
The company already has five drugs in clinical trials. One of these is a potential treatment for cerebral cavernous malformations, which are abnormally shaped brain or spinal cord blood vessels. These can cause seizures and problems with balance and walking. As its technology improves over time, Recursion hopes to tackle a broader range of diseases, potentially improving millions of people’s lives.
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