Jan 20 (Reuters) – Isomorphic Labs, which uses artificial intelligence for drug discovery, expects to have its first clinical trials by the end of 2026, founder and CEO Demis Hassabis said on Tuesday.
The comments, made at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, signal a delay in the Google-backed startup’s ambitions.
Hassabis had said last year the company would have AI-designed drugs in clinical trials by the end of 2025.
Companies have been increasingly touting the real-world applications of AI, where the technology can be used to speed up research and development and shorten drug discovery timelines in the healthcare sector.
Isomorphic was founded in 2021 as a spin-off from Alphabet’s AI research subsidiary, Google DeepMind, which is headed by Hassabis.
One of DeepMind and Hassabis’ most celebrated breakthroughs was AlphaFold, an AI program that can predict protein structures.
Isomorphic last year raised $600 million in its first-ever external funding round led by Thrive Capital.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Deborah Sophia; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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