Exscientia Announces Second Molecule Created Using AI From Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Collaboration to Enter Phase 1 Clinical Trial
Exscientia Ltd. (Headquarters: Oxford, UK; CEO: Andrew Hopkins) is pleased to acknowledge that Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd. (Head office: Osaka, Japan, Representative Director, President and CEO: Hiroshi Nomura) has announced that they will initiate a Phase 1 clinical study of DSP-0038 in the United States for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.
DSP-0038 is the third molecule created using Exscientia’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enter clinical trials. The two earlier compounds are DSP-1181, announced in 2020 together with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Exscientia’s immuno-oncology agent, EXS-21546, announced earlier this year.
Joint research between Exscientia and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma designed DSP-0038 to be a single small molecule that exhibits high potency as an antagonist for the 5-HT2A receptor and agonist for the 5-HT1A receptor, whilst selectively avoiding similar receptors and unwanted targets, such as the dopamine D2 receptor. Selective dual targeting is a major challenge for conventional drug discovery, and psychiatric indications also require exceptional selectivity to avoid off-target effects. The successful design of DSP-0038 demonstrates opportunities to design selective molecules with dual activity.
DSP-0038 will be assessed for improved antipsychotic effects associated with Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, as well as improvements in behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia which include agitation, aggression, anxiety, and depression.
Toru Kimura, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, said: "We have been impressed by the outstanding productivity of Exscientia's AI technologies. The combination of Exscientia’s AI with our company’s deep experience in monoamine GPCR drug discovery has now led to two molecules reaching our clinical pipeline from this collaboration.”
Andrew Hopkins, CEO of Exscientia, said: "This is further validation that our AI platform can turn complex biological challenges into high-quality clinical candidates quickly. To have what we believe to be the world’s first three clinical molecules created using AI arising from our own platform – two with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma - is a wonderful achievement. We hope that through the creation of DSP-0038 improved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease psychosis will be realized."
About Exscientia
Exscientia is an AI-driven pharmatech company committed to discovering and designing the best possible medicines in the fastest and most effective manner. Exscientia is the first company to progress AI-designed small molecules into the clinical setting and repeatedly demonstrate the ability of AI to transform how drugs are created. Exscientia’s AI platform has now designed two drugs that are in Phase 1 human clinical trials.
Drug design is precision engineering at the molecular scale. Exscientia has built dedicated AI systems that efficiently learn from the widest range of data and consistently reapply enhanced knowledge through iterations of design. Because Exscientia’s AI platform learns more effectively and rapidly than human-led efforts alone, candidate molecules satisfying complex therapeutic requirements are created with revolutionary efficiency. Exscientia believes that designing better drugs, faster, will allow the best ideas of science to rapidly become the best medicines for patients.
Exscientia has offices in Oxford, Miami, Osaka and Dundee. For more information visit us on www.exscientia.ai or follow us on Twitter @exscientiaAI.
About Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma defines its corporate mission as "To broadly contribute to society through value creation based on innovative research and development activities for the betterment of healthcare and fuller lives of people worldwide." By pouring all our efforts into the research and development of new drugs, we aim to realize our corporate mission and provide innovative and effective pharmaceutical
solutions to people not only in Japan but also around the world. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma's goal is to create innovative pharmaceutical products in the focus research areas of Psychiatry & Neurology, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine/Cell Therapy. For further details, visit https://www.ds-pharma.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210513005059/en/
Contact information
Enquiries:
Edelman
Anitra Sprauten
P: +44 (0)7896 859386
Anitra.Sprauten@edelman.com
Stephanie Crisp
P: +44 (0)7583 003417
Stephanie.Crisp@edelman.com
For Exscientia
Mark Swindells: contact@exscientia.ai
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Alpha’s latest report explores the impact of retail investors on fund finance provision17.9.2025 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
Alpha Group International plc (LON:ALPH) today announced the launch of its latest Lender Book Report, exploring and analysing the latest fund finance market trends. What does retail investment mean for subscription lines? Private capital funds, once the reserve of institutions such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, are rapidly opening up to a wider base of potential investors. Indeed, last month saw President Trump issue an executive order calling for expanded access to private equity and other alternative investments for 401(k) plans and their participants. While the push to open up private capital markets will undoubtedly see an influx of capital coming from new investor types, it also throws up a whole host of ramifications that need to be addressed. One of which is the impact on fund financing, namely subscription line loans. Traditionally, these facilities are secured against capital commitments from institutional investors into an alternative asset manager’s closed-end
LatticeFlow AI Sets a New Standard for AI Governance With Evidence-Based Technical Assessments17.9.2025 11:51:00 EEST | Press release
LatticeFlow AI, the Swiss deep-tech company advancing trustworthy and compliant AI, today announced the Early Access Program for AI GO!, the first platform that enables AI Governance Operations through deep technical assessments. With this, LatticeFlow AI sets a new standard for AI governance and compliance, enabling organizations to accelerate their AI advantage. Traditional Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) systems, based on checklists, are insufficient to govern complex and rapidly evolving AI systems. LatticeFlow AI GO! provides rigorous, evidence-based assessments that uncover AI risks, generate audit-ready insights, and empower confident decision-making. The platform equips AI risk and compliance teams with the visibility and confidence they need to harness the full potential of GenAI applications, chatbots, and the latest LLMs. “The only way AI governance can work and scale is when it’s grounded in technical evidence,” said Petar Tsankov, CEO and Co-Founder of LatticeFlow AI
Seven2 and HRK LUNIS Announce Successful Double Closing17.9.2025 11:01:00 EEST | Press release
Seven2, a leading European private equity firm, and HRK LUNIS, one of the leading independent wealth managers in Germany, have successfully completed both the majority stake acquisition of HRK LUNIS by Seven2, announced in March of this year, and the merger with Grossbötzl, Schmitz & Partner, announced in April. The smooth approval process is a positive sign for the German wealth management market and underlines the stability of the sector. With the completed double closing, HRK LUNIS's client assets under management have increased to approximately €7.5 billion and the number of employees to 120. The acquisition of HRK LUNIS is Seven2’s first investment in Germany, marking a key strategic milestone to further expand the private equity firm's position in Europe. Together with Seven2, HRK LUNIS will continue its growth trajectory, further develop its product offering, and optimize its digital capabilities to drive maximum customer benefits. The company offers a broad and competitive rang
Quectel Appoints Natasha Barrios as Senior Vice President of Sales for EMEA Region17.9.2025 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Quectel Wireless Solutions, an end-to-end global IoT solutions provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Natasha Barrios as Senior Vice President of Sales for the EMEA region. Natasha transitions to the role from her position as Vice President of Sales for North America where she helped to shape Quectel’s North American sales strategy, delivering exponential revenue growth across the region and scaling the team tenfold since 2017. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250917625759/en/ Quectel appoints Natasha Barrios as Senior Vice President of Sales for EMEA region As part of her new role in EMEA, Natasha will spearhead the strategy to expand the reach of Quectel’s comprehensive portfolio of IoT products and services and drive continued year-over-year sales growth in EMEA. Her leadership and methodology is grounded in Quectel’s values of dedication, preparation, focus, innovation and mutual success with c
ISN ® Partners with Esso Exploration Angola Limited to Advance Contractor Management17.9.2025 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
ISN, the global leader in contractor and supplier information management services, announced the expansion of ISNetworld to Esso Exploration Angola Limited, an ExxonMobil affiliate, specialized in oil exploration and production. Through this collaboration, ISN will support Esso Angola in streamlining contractor management and oversight, meeting local compliance requirements, and increasing visibility into worker-level training and competency. “ExxonMobil has been a trusted partner of ISN for many years, and we are excited to continue our relationship with the Esso Angola team,” said David Bibby, Vice President of Europe, MEA, and APAC Operations at ISN. “This next step gives ExxonMobil’s team the tools to help standardize operations internationally, and create safer, more efficient job sites around the globe.” Building on a relationship that spans more than two decades with ISN, Esso Angola will leverage tools and services, such as Training Qualification and the Online Training tool, t
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom