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
Binarly to Unveil “Broken Trust” Research: Firmware Bypass Chains, BMC Persistence, and EDR Evasion16.1.2026 00:04:00 EET | Press release
Binarly, the industry leader in software and firmware supply-chain security, today announced an upcoming DistrictCon presentation “Broken Trust: Firmware Bypass Chains, BMC Persistence, and EDR Evasion.” The session will detail how firmware-level attack chains observed in shipped enterprise devices can effectively undermine modern endpoint defenses, enabling stealthy compromise and long-lived persistence. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260115834965/en/ Binarly Unveils Broken Trust Research: Firmware Bypass, BMC Persistence In this presentation, the Binarly REsearch team will dismantle the assumption of hardware trust by presenting multiple real-world firmware bypass chains. Alex Matrosov and Fabio Pagani will provide a deep dive into the specific vulnerability classes and exploitation primitives that make these attacks reliable in practice. The team will also deliver a live demonstration compromising a fully
World Economic Forum and Salesforce Empower Global Leaders With First-of-its-Kind Agentic Assistant for the 2026 Annual Meeting in Davos15.1.2026 20:06:00 EET | Press release
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the world’s #1 CRM, today announced the activation of the World Economic Forum’s institutional knowledge powered by Agentforce 360 to support over 3,000 of the world’s most influential leaders at the 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. The Forum has launched a new proactive, high-precision concierge app, “EVA,” built on the Agentforce 360 Platform, Salesforce’s agentic platform. EVA will empower attendees to move beyond traditional information access, with an AI agent that doesn’t just answer questions, but can reason, prioritize, and act on a leader’s behalf for the 2026 Annual Meeting. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260115571119/en/ Scheduled for January 19–23 in Davos, Switzerland, this year’s event is set to be the largest meeting in the organization's history. With over 450 high-impact sessions and thousands of specialized interactions, the gap between available insight and
Coolbrook Named on the 2026 Global Cleantech 10015.1.2026 19:14:00 EET | Press release
Coolbrook, a transformational technology and engineering company on a mission to decarbonise major industrial sectors like petrochemicals and chemicals, iron and steel, aluminium, and cement, has been named on Cleantech Group’s 2026 Global Cleantech 100. This annual list recognizes companies poised to deliver market-ready solutions that advance a cleaner, more resilient global future. The report highlights innovators addressing some of the world’s most urgent environmental and infrastructure challenges. The complimentary report introduces you to innovators advancing groundbreaking technologies and business models to enable us to act on the ever-increasing climate and environmental crisis. Following a 2025 marked by geopolitical volatility and shifting economic signals, the global cleantech ecosystem enters 2026 with slightly greater certainty - yet heightened competitive pressure. Growth is concentrating around two dominant themes: AI infrastructure and critical minerals. “The 2026 Glo
Frasca to Supply Four New Flight Training Devices to Global Medical Response15.1.2026 17:05:00 EET | Press release
Frasca International, Inc., a FlightSafety International company, today announced it has signed a contract with Global Medical Response (GMR) to supply four new Level 7 Flight Training Devices (FTDs). The new devices include an Airbus EC135, a Pilatus PC-12, a Beechcraft C90, and a Beechcraft B200. Each FTD will feature Frasca's unique motion system to provide enhanced realism in training. The devices will be installed at GMR’s new training facility currently under construction in Denton, Texas. Frasca has supported GMR’s pilot training efforts for nearly two decades, beginning with the delivery of their first device in 2005 for Air Evac Lifeteam, a GMR company. Since then, Frasca simulators have played a central role in preparing GMR’s flight crews for the complex and high-stakes environments they encounter in emergency medical operations. With the delivery of these new devices, GMR will operate a total of 15 Frasca simulators, including seven Level 7 FTDs and eight Helicopter Trainin
Andersen Consulting Expands Human Capital Offering With Addition of Jakarta Consulting Group15.1.2026 16:30:00 EET | Press release
Andersen Consulting deepens its capabilities through a Collaboration Agreement with Jakarta Consulting Group (JCG), an advisory firm known for its expertise in organizational transformation, human capital strategy, and leadership development. Headquartered in Indonesia, JCG has advised companies in industries such as real estate, mining, and manufacturing through strategic and cultural transformation. With core offerings that include business and management consulting, HR consulting, assessment, and business and management training, the firm is known for its ability to transform businesses and leaders with agility, cultural intelligence, and execution-driven solutions. “We’ve always believed that sustainable transformation begins with people — when leaders evolve, organizations follow,” said Patricia Susanto, CEO of Jakarta Consulting Group. “By combining Andersen Consulting’s global perspective with our regional insight, we can offer clients more holistic solutions to navigate change
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