Artificial Intelligence Platform Helps Find Combination Drug Treatments for COVID-19

Healx (Cambridge, UK), an AI-powered biotech company specializing in rare diseases, is using its AI platform to develop drug combinations from approved drugs to contribute towards global efforts to find treatments for COVID-19. This focus on combination therapies, where two or more drugs simultaneously target different aspects of the disease pathology, has the potential to ensure a more effective treatment.

Healx is an AI-powered and patient-inspired technology company, accelerating the discovery and development of rare disease treatments. Many patients in this demographic suffer from pre-existing conditions relating to the heart and respiratory system which have been associated with the highest mortality rates amongst COVID-19 patients. Given this increased vulnerability to COVID-19, and the acute need for treatments, Healx is dedicating its time, knowledge, experience and technology towards fighting the viral infection. The treatments Healx intends to develop are also likely to have wide use amongst other patients identified as vulnerable.

Healx’s AI platform, Healnet, integrates and analyzes biomedical data from multiple sources to predict those combination therapies that are most likely to succeed in the clinic. The company’s AI drug discovery platform leverages public and proprietary biomedical data and features the world’s leading knowledge graph for rare diseases. Healnet is widely regarded as the world’s most efficient and comprehensive AI platform for rare diseases. Combination therapy candidates will be available in May for preclinical testing.

“The recent spread of COVID-19 is risking the lives of millions of rare disease patients across the world. The company’s AI technology is perfectly positioned to support the efforts to find treatments for COVID-19. Healx’s data-driven AI platform is able to predict, within weeks, which known drugs can be repurposed to treat other conditions such as COVID-19,” said Dr. David Brown, Healx Chairman and Co-founder. “This approach significantly shortens discovery-to-clinic timelines. Our AI is able to combine 2-3 existing drugs to formulate the most effective treatment. This approach ensures that any potential treatments we identify can be used by clinicians to help patients very quickly.”

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