Partner Spotlight: AQEMIA and Sanofi Harness Generative AI and Deep Physics to Power R&D
Sometimes transformative technology comes from unexpected places. In drug development, that often means the intersection of seemingly unrelated technologies or esoteric areas of science. French pharmatech AQEMIA was born out of research in quantum physics and is on a mission to transform drug discovery with physics-driven artificial intelligence (AI). Enter Sanofi, set on becoming the first pharmaceutical company powered by AI at scale and the ideal partner to realize the full potential of this technology to transform R&D.
In 2023, Sanofi and AQEMIA announced a collaboration to combine Sanofi’s global R&D expertise with AQEMIA’s quantum-inspired physics algorithms and generative AI platform to accelerate and improve drug development.
Matt Truppo, Sanofi’s Global Head of Research Platforms and Computational R&D, sat down with Maximilien Levesque, CEO of AQEMIA, to discuss how their partnership, which began in 2020, is expanding.
The goal is to take the insights and knowledge that are generated from AQEMIA’s platform to help us accelerate small molecule design, which will enable us ultimately to go from biological concept to a real treatment in a shorter amount of time – and to serve the patient better.
Matt Truppo
Global Head of Research Platforms and Computational R&D
How Deep Physics-Guided Generative AI Can Improve R&D
Across pharma, determining how to integrate and fully capitalize on AI is not a new problem. And using AI platforms to drive drug discovery is not a new idea. Tackling the complex challenges of modern drug design, where researchers must optimize multiple factors simultaneously, is primed to benefit from the use of AI.
“AI is best used in areas where you can provide very large datasets to develop accurate predictive models,” said Matt. “The ability to generate accurate synthetic data with advanced physics-based calculations has the power to accelerate the utility of these AI approaches.”
This combination of generative AI with deep physics is at the core of the Sanofi and AQEMIA collaboration. It is especially unique because AQEMIA generates its own data from scratch using physics-based calculations, rather than relying on existing data. This allows for faster and more accurate insights, applied from the earliest stages of drug discovery, to tackle complex molecule design challenges and significantly accelerate the identification and optimization of drug candidates for development.
Sanofi’s R&D experience can then translate these AI-driven insights into real compounds that can be tested.
Our technology is typically 10,000 times faster than current methods for molecule exploration and testing at the molecular scale. We test millions of molecules and feed the results back into our generative AI engine. We’re teaching it not just which molecules are good, but why they are good. Our generative AI uses that to invent better medicines, faster.
Maximilien Levesque
AQEMIA CEO
What It Means
AQEMIA and Sanofi have a common goal: to responsibly leverage AI to enhance R&D and accelerate delivery of new medicines to patients. The promise is great and the potential immense: to get better medicines to more patients, faster.
“With our background in molecules, atoms, generative AI and physics, our goal is to invent truly innovative molecules that have a real impact on human health,” said Max. “We value collaborative partnerships that align with this mission and share our vision of shaping the future of drug discovery. This is what partners like Sanofi bring to the table. We look forward to continuing this long-term collaboration to learn from each other, share our expertise and leverage emerging technologies that can significantly impact patients.”
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