AI-powered cancer immunotherapy discovery could be a step closer

The collaboration has been funded by Innovate UK and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) through a UK – Germany Bilateral: Collaborative R&D competition. The aim of the programme is to enhance UK and German collaborations and capabilities in the emerging fields of technology in our society. This is to develop and deliver new innovations and applications of the technologies across a broad range of sectors. 

Tackling inefficiency and high costs 

The key challenge the collaboration hopes to tackle is the inefficient and costly process of identifying therapeutic T-cell receptors (TCRs) that can effectively target cancer cells. TCRs are proteins located on the surface of immune cells that can recognise antigens on cancer cells, directing the immune system to target and destroy them. 

TCRs hold tremendous potential for precision medicine, particularly in the development of personalised therapies, but the process of identifying these rare, cancer-specific TCRs has been slow and resource-intensive. 

The collaboration is aiming to address these hurdles by combining advanced AI techniques with large-scale, curated biological datasets to enhance the discovery and design of cancer-targeting TCRs. By streamlining the process, Exogene aims to significantly reduce the time and cost involved, while increasing the efficacy and safety of these therapies. 

Combining strengths 

We are building a system that designs the best TCRs for cancer-specific antigens, positioning us as a leader in AI-driven TCR discovery. By analysing vast datasets and identifying patterns, our system prioritises promising candidates, speeding up discovery and reducing costs in developing new therapies. Streamlining the drug discovery process will make advanced cancer treatments more accessible, particularly for rare and hard-to-treat cancers. Our collaboration with Alithea Bio means we’re combining our cutting-edge AI platform with their extensive database of cancer targets to accelerate TCR discovery, supporting innovation in both the UK and German life sciences sectors.

– Andrea Mambrini, CTO at Exogene

Leveraging project outcomes to realise commercial potential 

If the project is successful, Exogene will seek to leverage the advancements in our technology to secure partnerships and pilot projects with large biotech companies. The commercial potential of the technology is significant, offering a reduction in drug discovery timelines and costs for the company’s partners. This would, in turn, mean better medicines and ultimately better outcomes for patients.  

Exogene has already expanded both its wet lab and computational teams to advance the project. Successful project delivery would further strengthen capabilities, leading to new hires and business growth to support the roll-out of the technology. 

Find out more about the latest round of UK-Germany Collaborative R&D funding here.