Bayer and Aignostics to collaborate for AI oncology research

Betsy Goodfellow | March 14, 2024 | News story | Research and Development |  AI, Bayer, Oncology, research 

Bayer and Aignostics have announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration for several artificial intelligence (AI)-powered approaches for precision oncology drug research and development.

The two companies are intended to co-create a novel target identification platform, using Aignostics’ technology and patient cohorts, as well as Bayer’s expertise in the discovery and development of novel oncology therapeutics. According to the companies’ press release, the collaboration will also ‘include the development of computational pathology algorithms powered by AI and machine learning (ML) that connect baseline pathology data, such as molecular tumour profiles, with clinical data, such as patient outcomes, to enable better patient identification, stratification and selection for clinical trials’.

Under the terms of this agreement, Aignostics will receive an initial upfront payment and is eligible for success-based milestone payments and royalties on any commercialised therapies resulting from this collaboration.

Christian Rommel, member of the executive committee of Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division and head of research and development at Bayer, commented: “Gaining insights into human disease biology, discovering targets with a strong disease link by integrating AI, ML and multimodal pathology into precision drug development has a huge potential for our R&D innovation strategy. Bringing Aignostics’ technical knowhow and their access to large patient datasets together with Bayer’s expertise in cancer research and development will enable discoveries and faster clinical development, helping to provide cancer patients with more impactful medicines.”

Betsy Goodfellow