Ten63 Therapeutics Raises Over $45M for AI Drug Discovery
Ten63 Therapeutics has closed a strategic financing round, bringing its total funding to more than $45 million. The capital will be used to scale the company's platform for artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery. The investment signals continued investor confidence in the application of AI in the pharmaceutical sector.
- The company is a spin-out from Duke University and the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC), founded by a team that includes Professor Bruce Donald and CEO Marcel Frenkel, PhD. - New strategic investors in the latest round include Chugai Venture Fund and the Gates Foundation, joining previous backers like Hatteras Venture Partners, Morpheus Ventures, and Draper Associates. - Ten63's proprietary platform, BEYOND, is described as a Large Quantum Chemistry Model that combines generative AI with physics-based simulations to analyze trillions of potential drug molecules. - The company's internal pipeline is focused on oncology, specifically targeting proteins that have been considered "undruggable." A primary focus is the Myc protein, an oncogene implicated in an estimated 70% of all human cancers. - In addition to its oncology work, Ten63 received a grant from the Gates Foundation to develop affordable small-molecule therapies for HPV and address cervical cancer. - The AI drug discovery market is projected to grow substantially, with forecasts suggesting it could reach nearly $6.9 billion by 2029, up from $1.86 billion in 2024. - In December 2023, Ten63 entered a multi-target drug discovery collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to discover novel molecules for various diseases.
