Benevolent AI

Published by Daniel at January 31, 2024

BenevolentAI, the largest private AI company in Europe, is a unique enterprise that uses deep learning advantages to accelerate drug discovery and bring effective medicines to every patient...

BenevolentAI is an AI enterprise that uses scientific data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning aimed to re-engineer pharmaceutical discovery. The company has developed an AI-enabled drug platform (Benevolent platform) to analyze the molecular process of disease and match drug treatments to the most applicable patients, subsequently finding innovative ways in disease treatment. His founder, Ken Mulvany, created Stratified Medicine in November 2013, and the company changed its name to BenevolentAI in September 2016. Also, he was previously the CEO of Proximagen, a biotech company that used to deliver novel drugs and find innovative new treatments for central nervous system disorders.(1,2,3)

While this company has centers worldwide, the headquarters is located in London, with a research facility in Cambridge (UK) and two additional main offices in New York and Belgium. Benevolent is Europe’s largest privately held artificial intelligence company, serving millions of patients in many countries.(1,3)

Strategic Alliances for the Future

Although the company is working on its own drug candidates, Benevolent possesses key strategic worldwide collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies, such as AstraZeneca and Novartis, that focus on developing new treatments mainly in three therapy fields – Oncology, Renal, and Respiratory.(4,5)

The Wisdom Algorithm

The principal factor behind their services is applying its sophisticated AI brain in many research fields. This brain consists of a top-notch data processing algorithm. Using an elaborated pattern recognition software, Benevolent AI can almost instantly analyze outstanding amounts of selected data in an astonishing, cost-effective manner. This intelligent search engine is used in several research fields, such as material development, agriculture, veterinary, biology, and medicine. This company’s medical branch is BenevolentBio, which mainly dedicates its processing capacities to drug discovery. By efficiently analyzing vast amounts of selected clinical research databases, this company can determine new patterns among the data, augmenting the researchers’ capacity to review and analyze more clinical data.

Thus leading to discoveries like novel applications for existing drugs or more efficient diagnostic criteria for particular pathologies.(6,7)

This company’s medical branch is BenevolentBio, which mainly dedicates its processing capacities to drug discovery. By efficiently analyzing vast amounts of selected clinical research databases, this company can determine new patterns among the data, augmenting the researchers’ capacity to review and analyze more clinical data.Thus leading to discoveries like novel applications for existing drugs or more efficient diagnostic criteria for particular pathologies.(6,7)

No Disease should be left Untreated

Since 2016, BenevolentBio has continued to improve how clinical research and drug development are done. Combining human scientific analysis with AI research engines increases the analysis capacity, enabling the inclusion of more diverse data and leading toward a more accurate and tailored usage of existing pharmaceutical agents in specific medical circumstances. It has reduced the costs of research and accelerated drug discovery. Also, excellent examples of this novel tool’s applications are the leading research of new treatments for untreatable conditions such as ALS, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, their numerous advantages are notable in the newly discovered application of the drug Baricitinib. It was previously used for refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis and is now repurposed for severe COVID-19 treatment as an anti-inflammatory and antiviral agent. The Lancet published these findings in February 2020 and then were approved by the FDA and the European Commission of Health later that year.(8,9)

A Race that is Transforming Medicine

As mentioned before, BenevolentAI aims to leave no patient without treatment; consequently, they have active programs in multiple disease areas such as atopic dermatitis (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, CNS diseases, glioblastoma multiforme, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, chronic kidney disease, and another twenty more programs in different stages of development. Some research projects are more advanced than others, with AD and ALS research in the lead, completing phase 1 and chemistry and lead optimization, respectively. One of their latest achievements is the approval of Baricitinib as an emergency use authorization treatment for COVID-19 patients after they published the hypothesis in February 2020. This decision was based on data from a clinical trial including more than 1000 patients sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.(10,11)

AI + Biotech = A Recipe for Success

One of BenevolentAI’s most essential partnerships recently is multinational biotech company AstraZeneca, which entered into a strategic collaboration to develop new drugs for CKD and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2019. Both businesses aim to fuse one company’s scientific expertise and datasets with the platform and biomedical knowledge of the other, a combination for success. In January 2021, they announced advancements in their work development portfolio of novel AI-generated chronic kidney disease targets. The progress could potentially fill the need for new drugs for this disabling disease.(12)

Because Patients Worldwide Deserve Better

In 2020, BenevolentAI won the Innovation Award at the Scrips Awards due to their contribution to COVID-19 research and the success of their collaborations. Without a doubt, BenevolentAI has had amazing growth, being one of the fifteen medical companies leading in innovation worldwide, according to the Fierce 15 2020 list.(13,14)