Israeli machine learning company CytoReason, which has developed cell-centered models of the immune system for drug discovery has entered into a collaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). Pfizer will pay CytoReason amounts, "equaling up to low double digit millions of US$ for technology access fees, research support and certain success-based payments."
The Tel Aviv-based company's proprietary platform helps rebuild lost cellular information from gene expression data and associates genes to specific cells. This information is then integrated with additional omics and literature data to create a cell-based model of the trial-specific immune response. Integration with the CytoReason disease model empowers the study analytics and allows the model to learn and improve, leading to robust target discovery, drug response biomarkers and indication selection.
CytoReason CEO David Harel said, "The collaboration with Pfizer will further strengthen our models in our core therapeutic areas. This will be our fifth major partnership, which we believe will help make our model unparalleled in its accuracy for assets across the pipeline. CytoReason’s model brings together thousands of samples on a cell-protein-gene level, allowing for fast and accurate insights."
"We believe that CytoReason’s platform has the potential to offer valuable insights that may be applied to our research into the human immune system," said Michael Vincent, CSO, Inflammation & Immunology, Pfizer. "Leveraging technologies such as this can help us understand disease and prioritize targets, and support our mission of bringing innovative new therapies to patients who need them."
CytoReason was represented by Adv Yael Baratz from Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz law firm.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 10, 2019
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