Syngenta Crop Protection and Insilico Medicine to Harness Artificial Intelligence to Transform Sustainable Product Innovation

February 3, 2021 |

6 min read

Multi-year collaboration will use artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning to accelerate the invention of new, more sustainable products and technologies for growers

Feb. 3, 2021 07:00 UTC

Multi-year collaboration will use artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning to accelerate the invention of new, more sustainable products and technologies for growers
Insilico Medicine is a world leader in using AI and deep learning for the faster and more efficient innovation of new active ingredients
Syngenta will harness the immense potential and scope of AI to develop the next generation of sustainable crop protection solutions

BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Syngenta Crop Protection is collaborating with artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning company Insilico Medicine to accelerate the invention and development of new, more effective crop protection solutions that protect crops from diseases, weeds and pests, while also protecting ecosystems. By bringing new solutions to farmers faster and more efficiently through innovation, Syngenta will help them meet the ongoing challenges they face, in order to enhance productivity and meet global demand for affordable, quality food.

“This collaboration with Insilico Medicine means that Syngenta can harness the immense potential and scope of AI to develop the next generation of sustainable crop protection solutions as part of Syngenta’s $2bn commitment to innovation and sustainability,” said Camilla Corsi, Head Crop Protection Research at Syngenta. “This will further transform agriculture by providing farmers around the world with the tools they need to produce healthy, nutritious, affordable and sustainably grown food in the most efficient way, while also minimizing the environmental impact.”

Insilico Medicine has a proven track record and has delivered significant advances in pharmaceutical research, using AI and deep learning to design, synthesize and validate new ingredients. The same approach also has the potential to transform the development of new crop protection solutions that help keep plants safe, from planting to harvesting. Working closely with Syngenta, Insilico Medicine will use their AI-powered small molecule generative chemistry technology not only to invent molecules for active ingredients faster, but also actively design molecules that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

“We are very happy to collaborate with a company that is dedicated to developing safe and sustainable solutions for growers,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder, and CEO, Insilico Medicine. “Our artificial intelligence is designed from the ground up to produce very precise chemistry to protect human health, while ensuring short-term and long-term safety. This expertise is extremely valuable for crop sciences, and especially so for businesses whose top priority is the safety of their products. Syngenta is a progressive company with many brilliant scientists, and we will be working together to use artificial intelligence for the benefit of agriculture.”

“Our reputation as a global leader in innovation is built on a foundation of collaboration and our understanding of the challenges faced by growers,” Camilla Corsi also noted. “Working together with Insilico Medicine, combining our skills, knowledge and technologies, will help ensure that new and more effective crop protection solutions will be in the hands of farmers sooner.”

About Syngenta

Syngenta is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies, comprising of Syngenta Crop Protection and Syngenta Seeds. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. Syngenta Crop Protection and Syngenta Seeds are part of Syngenta Group with 49,000 people in more than 100 countries and is working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to accelerating innovation for farmers and nature, striving for carbon neutral agriculture, helping people stay safe and healthy and partnering for impact.

To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine develops software that leverages generative models, reinforcement learning (RL), and other modern machine learning techniques for the generation of new molecular structures with specific properties. Insilico Medicine also develops software for the generation of synthetic biological data, target identification, and the prediction of clinical trials outcomes. The company integrates two business models; providing AI-powered drug discovery services and software through its Pharma.AI platform (www.insilico.com/platform/) and developing its own pipeline of preclinical programs. The preclinical program is the result of pursuing novel drug targets and novel molecules discovered through its platforms. Since its inception in 2014, Insilico Medicine has raised over $52 million and received multiple industry awards. Insilico Medicine has also published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and has applied for over 25 patents. Website http://insilico.com/

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This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as ‘expect’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘potential’, ‘plans’, ‘prospects’, ‘estimated’, ‘aiming’, ‘on track’ and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.