Exscientia and GT Apeiron Therapeutics Enter Oncology Joint Venture
21.7.2021 11:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Exscientia, an AI-driven pharmatech company with a mission to revolutionise how drugs are discovered, and GT Apeiron Therapeutics (Apeiron), a Shanghai based company focused on novel oncology drugs, announced today a strategic research and development collaboration agreement. The collaboration will leverage the patient-centric AI-first capabilities of Exscientia to accelerate the discovery of multiple small molecule therapeutic drug candidates designed to selectively treat aberrant cell cycle driven cancers and build a pipeline of CDK novel therapies. All pipeline products will be equally owned and Exscientia holds an equity stake in Apeiron.
This expanded collaboration follows the successful design of multiple selective CDK7 compounds. The potent, highly selective, non-covalent CDK7 compounds have demonstrated consistent tumour responses in xenograft models as well as exceptional pharmacokinetics. In addition, using live primary tissue samples from ovarian cancer patients, the CDK7 inhibitors showed both enhanced tumour cell cytotoxicity as well as selectivity over immune cells in the same microenvironment.
“Based on what they have already achieved, Exscientia is clearly the leader in AI-driven drug discovery, and we have witnessed this first-hand in our collaboration so far,” stated Dr. Mingxi Li, President of GT Apeiron Therapeutics. “We have been incredibly impressed by the combined power of the AI design and use of patient data to optimize and select molecules that are more likely to give positive effects in the clinic. This joint venture is a significant step in building GT Apeiron’s valuable and robust pipeline of CDK inhibitor drugs and substantially accelerates our early-stage output and progression towards being a clinical stage biotech company.”
“We are driven to bring drugs to market that make a difference for patients,” says Andrew Hopkins, chief executive officer of Exscientia. “Apeiron bring a focus and an expertise on the biological basis of multiple cancers and helps us to create better drugs for better outcomes in the clinic and beyond. This collaboration has already proven to be capable of delivering potential drug candidates with promising patient-relevant data, and we look forward to extending that into a portfolio of multiple clinical assets.”
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 three 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 Social media: Twitter @exscientiaAI. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ex-scientia/
About GT Apeiron Therapeutics
GT Apeiron Therapeutics is strategically based in Shanghai and in the San Francisco Bay Area, with significant collaborations in the UK enabling us to tap into technologies and talent from all three continents. Our team and partners bring together deep expertise in oncology and drug discovery to enable efficient and scalable discovery and development of novel drugs. To learn more, visit http://www.apeiron-bio.com/ Social media: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/gt-apeiron-therapeutics/
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/20210721005394/en/
Contact information
Exscientia Enquiries:
Edelman PR
Nathan Field
P: +44 (0)7866 411198
Nathan.Field@edelman.com
GT Apeiron Therapeutics Contact:
info@apeiron-bio.com
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
Morinaga Milk Achieves Self-Affirmed GRAS Status for LAC-Living+™, Expanding U.S. Opportunities for Its Postbiotic Ingredient7.7.2026 05:00:00 EEST | Press release
Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:2264), a leading Japanese dairy and functional ingredient company, today announced that it has achieved self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status in the United States for LAC-Living+™ (L. helveticus MCC1848), its proprietary postbiotic ingredient. This milestone expands the commercial availability of LAC-Living+ in the U.S. market and enables its use in dietary supplements, functional foods, and beverages, supporting the development of products designed to address growing consumer demand for health and well-being solutions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706806943/en/ Growing Interest in Postbiotics and Mental Well-Being Consumer interest in proactive health management has expanded significantly in recent years, alongside increasing awareness of the connection between the gut and the brain, commonly referred to as the gut–brain axis. As a result, the g
Access Advance Welcomes New Licensors to the Video Distribution Patent Pool7.7.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Access Advance LLC today announced that Sharp, M&K Holdings, Tagivan and 9 other patent owners who own substantial video codec patent portfolios that cover the core technologies behind video decoding, processing, and streaming media delivery, have joined the Video Distribution Patent Pool (VDP Pool) in the first half of 2026. "The addition of all of these new Licensors’ patent portfolios is a real win for both the VDP Pool and our many existing and future Licensees,” said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. “These companies have broad and deep patent portfolios and further enhance the program’s market leading position in resolving the licensing issues around the use of modern video codecs across all the diverse business models of internet video streaming.” The following patent holders have joined the VDP Pool as Licensors in the first half of 2026: Digital Insights Inc. Hanbat National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation Hanwha Vision Co., Ltd. Industry-Academy Coopera
Real Chemistry Announces New Asia Pacific Hub with Acquisition of Spurwing Communications in Singapore7.7.2026 02:00:00 EEST | Press release
Real Chemistry, a global leader in AI- and insights-driven healthcare communications, today announced the acquisition of Spurwing Communications, establishing the company’s first Asia Pacific (APAC) strategic hub in Singapore. This milestone strengthens Real Chemistry’s global strategy and presence in APAC, enhancing its ability to support healthcare organizations. Combining deep market expertise with globally integrated capabilities across analytics, medical communications, advertising and strategic communications, the company is well positioned to deliver more connected, local insight-driven support — ultimately helping clients better reach and engage healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers across the region. “APAC is fast becoming one of the most dynamic and strategically important regions for healthcare innovation and access to life-improving therapies,” said Kath Harrison, Group President, International Growth at Real Chemistry. “By bringing Spurwing into Real Chemistry,
Vertex to Acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals6.7.2026 23:04:00 EEST | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNX), a global pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for endocrine diseases, today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Vertex will acquire Crinetics for $85.00 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $10.0 billion, or approximately $8.8 billion net of estimated cash acquired. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the Vertex and Crinetics Boards of Directors and is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706876183/en/ Crinetics’ marketed medicine, PALSONIFY® (paltusotine), received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2025. PALSONIFY was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) a
Ciauru Wins the Second Edition of the Reply AI Music Contest, the International Competition Dedicated to Experimentation Across AI, Music and Live Performance6.7.2026 21:30:00 EEST | Press release
The second edition of the Reply AI Music Contest, the international competition created by Reply to explore new forms of expression combining artificial intelligence, music and live performance, concluded with the announcement of the winner on the Nova Stage powered by Reply during Kappa FuturFestival. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706007611/en/ The second edition of the Reply AI Music Contest, the international competition created by Reply to explore new forms of expression combining artificial intelligence, music and live performance, concluded with the announcement of the winner on the Nova Stage powered by Reply during Kappa FuturFestival First place went to Ciauru, the stage name of Simone Privitera, an Italian multi-platinum DJ and producer who integrates artificial intelligence tools into a musical practice rooted in the contemporary electronic scene. With a career that has seen him collaborate wit
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
