Iktos and Zealand Pharma to Develop Artificial Intelligence Technology for Peptide Drug Design

• Agreement to co-develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology for the application in peptide drug design
• Collaboration leverages Iktos’ capabilities in machine learning and AI and Zealand expertise in peptide drug discovery

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Iktos, a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence for new drug design, today announced a research collaboration with Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078), a biotechnology company changing lives with innovative peptide-based medicines to co-develop generative and predictive AI technologies for peptide drug design.

Iktos’ AI technology, based on a comprehensive data-driven chemical structure generation technology, brings new insights into the drug discovery process. This technology automatically designs virtual novel molecules with all the characteristics of a successful drug molecule. Iktos has recently diversified its R&D efforts into the development of an AI technology for peptide-based therapeutics and has developed state-of-the-art generative and predictive models to facilitate design of novel peptide therapeutics with desired properties.

Zealand Pharma A/S has a track record of successfully inventing and developing novel peptide-based drugs. This success is based on the extensive experience in improving the therapeutic characteristics of peptides. Zealand Pharma has a keen interest in expanding its computational chemistry toolbox to include AI and machine learning based approaches for the design of novel therapeutic peptides (https://www.zealandpharma.com/).

Under the agreement, Zealand will contribute its expertise in peptide drug discovery to Iktos’ generative modelling technologies and expertise in machine learning and AI.

“We are very pleased to join forces with Zealand Pharma and leverage their deep know-how in peptide therapeutics with our state-of-the-art existing technology assets to peptide drug discovery” commented Yann Gaston-Mathé, President and CEO of Iktos. “We look forward to working with Zealand’s experienced R&D team to build leading/state of the art peptide generative and predictive modelling technology in the field of peptides - a new area for Iktos.”

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About IKTOS

Incorporated in October 2016, Iktos is a French start-up company specialized in the development of artificial intelligence solutions applied to chemical research, more specifically medicinal chemistry and new drug design. Iktos is developing a proprietary and innovative solution based on deep learning generative models, which enables, using existing data, to design molecules that are optimized in silico to meet all the success criteria of a small molecule discovery project. The use of Iktos technology enables major productivity gains in upstream pharmaceutical R&D. Iktos offers its technology both as professional services and as a SaaS software platform, Makya™. Iktos is also developing Spaya™, a synthesis planning software based upon Iktos’s proprietary AI technology for retrosynthesis. Iktos has recently diversified its R&D efforts into the development of an AI technology for peptide-based therapeutics and has developed state-of-the-art generative and predictive models to facilitate design of novel peptide therapeutics with desired properties.

More information on: http://www.iktos.ai/

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