Research & Development

French pharmaceutical company Servier and US-based Causal AI and Digital Twins company Aitia have announced a collaboration to create Digital Twins as an aid to help treat pancreatic cancer. This collaboration builds on a previous multiple myeloma one that was announced in 2022.

Gemini Digital Twins brings together omics and patient data into an AI-powered system that is used to discover genetic and molecular pathways linked to clinical outcomes of a specific disease. It works by modelling what happens when a gene or protein is targeted, which can reveal new drug indications. The platform also allows the simulation of disease progression and response to drug therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aitia and Servier will discover, validate and strive to develop novel drug targets through Aitia’s Gemini Digital Twins and Servier’s preclinical assays, therapeutic creation platforms and expertise. Servier will then receive an exclusive option to research, develop and commercialise products stemming from the collaboration.

Claude Bertrand, executive VP of Research and Development and chief scientific officer at Servier, stated: “I am convinced that scientific innovation combined with the power of digital technologies will help us bring new and innovative treatments faster to patients suffering from difficult and hard-to-treat cancers. Our expanded collaboration with Aitia will leverage discoveries from Gemini Digital Twins and harness the full potential of AI to make significant strides towards developing deeper biology of the disease and a better understanding of translational medicine questions such as biomarkers, patient stratifications or the discovery of drug targets. We believe this approach will generate novel mechanisms and hypotheses for potential new targeted therapies that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients with pancreatic cancer.”

Colin Hill, CEO and co-founder of Aitia, commented: “Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating cancers that claims the lives of far too many people far too soon. Drug discovery and development efforts in pancreatic cancer to date have yielded very few treatment options for patients. We believe our Gemini Digital Twins, which are created from large quantities of multi-omic patient data and Causal AI, have the potential to bring significant disruption to the field of pancreatic cancer and pave the way for breakthrough discoveries. We’re excited to collaborate with Servier to gain deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms driving this complex disease and accelerate the discovery of new therapies for people living with pancreatic cancer.”