2021

The European Union’s SME Instrument Horizon 2020 Project PICARD which started on October 1st 2019 was successfully completed by InterAx four months in advance on May 31st, 2021. With a total project volume of 2.49M EUR, InterAx expanded its drug discovery platform and boosted its commercialization efforts with the acquisition of three Pharma collaborations. With the integration of Artificial Intelligence, InterAx is now able to actively determine how to modify the chemistry of compounds to achieve specific cellular responses.

“I am very proud of the whole InterAx team for the successful achievement of the very ambitious goals set in our Picard H2020 project in such short time and with limited resources” explains Dr. Aurélien Rizk, CEO of InterAx Biotech. “The overall assessment of PICARD by the EU experts has been extremely good – the project has delivered exceptional results with significant immediate impact for the industry.”
InterAx has been pushing the boundaries of current knowledge and practice in cutting-edge technologies in an inherently interdisciplinary combination of analytical science, systems biology and machine learning. The ability to predict in vivo activity of novel chemical entities will lead to a reduction of animal testing, an increase of clinical trials success rate and a reduction of time to market for new treatments.

InterAx has established a platform that combines cell-based real-time assays and proprietary computational algorithms to enable intelligent drug candidate design targeting the largest class of drug targets (G Protein-Coupled Receptors, GPCRs) – which counts for more than 30% of all approved drugs.
The company applies mathematical models and simulations to in house-derived experimental data to address the complexity of drug-induced cellular signalling mechanisms. The technology offers outstanding potential to design new medicines that specifically activate the cellular response responsible for the desired therapeutic effect and reduce the cellular response responsible for adverse effects.

The company is currently focusing on further advancements of its technology platform and on in-house drug discovery of next-generation therapeutics for conditions with high unmet medical needs.
The InterAx discovery program to treat several solid tumors is showing promising results. First in class drug molecules with high affinity and potency on a novel target are under further investigation in animals after initial promising results in vitro to block proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells.
The target receptor is essential for the coordination of many physiological processes, in particular the immune cell behavior. Its deregulation is linked with many solid tumors, inflammatory diseases, and neurological diseases.

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Prof. Dr. Ruedi Aebersold is a pioneer in the field of proteomics and systems biology. He co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle in 2000 – the first-ever institute dedicated to the study of relationships and interactions between various parts of biological systems. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Committees of numerous academic and private-sector research organizations. He received multiple prestigious honors and awards in his career, including being ranked #1 on the 2015 list of “most influential people in the analytical sciences” by the Analytical Scientist and most recently the 2020 Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist.

“We are honored to officially welcome Prof. Dr. Ruedi Aebersold as a new member of our Scientific Advisory Board,” said Dr. Aurélien Rizk, CEO of InterAx Biotech. “Dr. Aebersold’s expertise, insights and direction will provide an unmatched mentorship as the company is extending its core technology to predict a broader range of drug responses. This will be especially valuable as InterAx Biotech is entering a new phase – advancing its in-house programs driven by its proprietary technology platform.”
“It is exciting to support a company successfully pioneering the commercialization of mathematical modeling and principles for systems biology-based drug discovery that have been developed in academia in the last decades.” says Prof. Dr. Ruedi Aebersold.

The InterAx Scientific Advisory Board consists of 7 members and includes experts in GPCR pharmacology, computational and structural biology, machine learning, medicinal chemistry, translational medicine in oncology and immunology. These experts provide scientific advice and are involved in strategic discussions about the company’s direction. The main focus is on the advancement of the InterAx technology platform and on the in-house drug discovery of next-generation therapeutics for conditions with highly unmet medical needs.

After having succeeded in acquiring first Pharma and Biotech partners and in securing EUR 2.49M European grant (Grant agreement No 880322), InterAx Biotech is looking forward to further expand its partner base and develop its in-house oncology program. InterAx is planning to grow further and is celebrating its 5-year anniversary with the opening of a new investment round.

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