CRL - Charles River and Aitia Enter Strategic Agreement to Utilize Logica in Discovery Programs for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Oncology | Benzinga
- Strategic partnership includes co-development of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) Digital Twins for in vivo oncology research
- Charles River to make an equity investment in Aitia as part of the agreement
WILMINGTON, Mass. and SOMERVILLE, Mass., Nov. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) and Aitia, a leader in the application of Causal AI and Digital Twins, today announced a strategic agreement that gives Aitia access to Logica™, Charles River's Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered drug solution platform, for the optimized discovery and early development of multiple therapeutic programs for neurodegenerative disease and oncology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Aitia will deploy Logica across their portfolio of novel drug targets with the aim of creating and advancing drug candidates for neurological indications, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases and cancers, including prostate cancer and multiple myeloma. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, affects 33 million people globally, while Parkinson's disease (PD) impacts 8.5 million, and it is estimated that Huntington's disease (HD) affects approximatively 1 in 10,000 people worldwide. There are currently no known cures for these diseases, and the prevalence of all three diseases rises year-over-year. In the field of oncology, there are approximately 1.4 million new cases of prostate cancer and 160,000 new cases of multiple myeloma reported globally each year. Each cancer presents unique challenges with acquired resistance to novel therapies and corresponding rates of overall survival.
"Unraveling the complex genetic and molecular circuitry of neurodegenerative disorders is critical to the discovery of treatments that significantly slow or reverse these devastating diseases," said Colin Hill, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Aitia. "I do not believe we will get there without the insights from our Digital Twins, which now combined with the advantages of Logica, positions Aitia to rapidly translate our discoveries into novel drug candidates. We are excited to join forces with Charles River, leveraging their ...