Biopharma Using AI to Find Promising Cancer Drug Candidates

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Biopharmaceutical company Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (RKV:TSX.V) has summarized its achievements for 2024 and outlined its goals for the coming year.

The company made a strategic shift in 2024 to use artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery to analyze the most promising candidates for development, the company said in a release. For 2025, one of Rakovina's goals is to advance a lead drug candidate into preclinical development.

"This year's achievements reflect the transformative power of technology and teamwork," said President and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Mads Daugaard. "By combining cutting-edge AI with our commitment to drug discovery, we are accelerating the development of therapies that could change the future for cancer patients."

The company announced its collaboration with Dr. Artem Cherkasov, a leading authority in the field, and an exclusive license agreement to use the Deep Docking AI™ platform for DNA damage response (DDR)-targeted research in March.

"This technology has revolutionized the drug discovery process by analyzing billions of molecular structures to identify the most promising candidates for development," Rakovina said in the release.

The partnership has allowed Rakovina to optimize discovery timelines and reduce costs while maintaining high precision. The platform, previously validated during the COVID-19 pandemic, screened 1.4 billion compounds in just 20 days. 

Pivot to AI-Driven Discovery

Other highlights of 2024 included the company initiating a collaboration with Variational AI to use their Enki™ platform to discover novel kinase inhibitors that could expand the Company’s reach within the field of precision oncology. Initial results from this collaboration are expected in early 2025, the company said.

The collaboration with Cherkasov has already produced a shortlist of optimized drug candidates with the potential to target DNA-damage response pathways, Rakovina said in the release. These candidates are undergoing rigorous validation in Rakovina’s laboratories at the University of British Columbia, a major milestone in leveraging AI to accelerate the discovery of life-saving cancer therapies.

The company also noted it had successfully closed two oversubscribed placements to raise a total of CA$5 million to support its research efforts.

"We are proud of the progress we've made in building a foundation for long-term success," Executive Chairman Jeffrey Bachasaid. "Our achievements this year are a testament to the hard work of our team and the strength of our collaborations. As we move into 2025, we will continue to strengthen and advance our pipeline, while in parallel, build on our engagement with potential pharmaceutical partners to bring innovative therapies that have the potential to transform the treatment of cancer and improve outcomes for patients worldwide."

2025: Advancing a Lead Drug Candidate

Rakovina said it was looking forward to several key milestones in 2025, including advancing a lead drug candidate from the KT-3000 series into preclinical development and positioning it for advancement to clinical trials in collaboration with a pharmaceutical industry partner.

It also hopes to expand the pipeline with high-value oncology indications by identifying and validating new drug candidates through AI-driven platforms and wet-lab infrastructure at the University of British Columbia, make progress on discussions with pharmaceutical companies to explore co-development and licensing opportunities and secure additional non-dilutive and strategic funding to support pipeline expansion and clinical development efforts.

Rakovina Therapeutics received positive recognition in The Globe and Mail, where it was listed among the top 10 undervalued stocks in the Biotechnology sector on the TSX Venture Exchange. According to Stockcalc's valuation metrics, Rakovina's stock showed a 20.5% difference between its current price and intrinsic value, indicating the potential for growth.

The Catalyst: Streamlining Drug Discovery Process

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), molecular docking has significantly improved drug discovery by enabling the virtual screening of millions of compounds at an accelerated pace.

"In silico approaches now enable the virtual screening of millions of compounds in an affordable time, thus reducing the initial costs of hit identification and improving chances of finding the desired drug candidates," the NIH said.

This evolution has also opened new opportunities for integrating AI into docking processes, creating refined workflows that enhance the identification and optimization of promising drug candidates.

The Deep Docking (DD) platform, as presented in ACS Publications, utilized AI-driven deep learning models to process vast chemical databases and streamline drug discovery efforts. This method demonstrated a "100-fold reduction of an ultra-large docking database and up to 6000-fold enrichment for the top-ranked hits," dramatically increasing efficiency in identifying high-potential molecules. The ability to process such extensive databases with precision marks a critical advancement in DNA-damage response (DDR) drug discovery.

The global DDR drugs market was valued at about US$7.15 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.40% to reach about US$27.45 billion by 2033, Precedence Research noted. "North America dominated the DNA repair drugs market in 2023," the firm said.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global oncology drugs market size was valued at US$201.75 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to US$518.25 billion by 2032.

Data published by the American Cancer Society show there were more than 1.9 million cancer patients in the U.S. alone by the end of 2023, a 28.0% increase from 2010, Fortune Business Insights reported.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, Newgen Therapeutics owns 26.88% of Rakovina Therapeutics.

Management and Insiders own 4.86%, with the top two being Jeffrey Bacha at 2.05% and Alfredo De Lucrezia at 1.99%.

The rest is retail.

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. has more than 90 million shares outstanding and a market capitalization of approximately CA$13.67 million. Over the past 52 weeks, its stock has traded between CA$0.15 and CA%$0.01.