People around the world are set to benefit from new breakthroughs in AI-driven drug discovery to tackle previously untreatable diseases and transforming patient outcomes using British AI and research expertise.
Announced today, the UK’s ‘OpenBind’ consortium will use breakthrough experimental technology at Harwell Campus to generate the world’s largest collection of data on how drugs interact with proteins, the building blocks of the body. This will be twenty times greater than anything collected over the last fifty years – cementing the UK’s position as a global hub for AI-driven drug discovery.
This will support the training of new AI models that can identify promising new drugs, giving researchers an unparalleled ability to open up new fronts in the fight against disease – slashing development costs by up to £100 billion and sparking the innovation and economic growth which underpins the government’s Plan for Change.
Based at Diamond Light Source – the UK’s national synchrotron facility at the Harwell Science Campus in Oxfordshire – the consortium will close critical data gaps, driving breakthroughs in healthcare which will unlock new avenues for drugs that can treat and beat diseases, as well as helping scientists harness the transformative potential of engineering biology to face down a range of other issues, such as designing new enzymes to tackle plastic waste.
The consortium, backed with up to £8 million of investment from DSIT’s newly established Sovereign AI Unit, will be led by some of the world’s leading scientific minds including Professor Charlotte Deane at the University of Oxford, Professor Frank von Delft at Diamond Light Source and the University of Oxford, and David Baker, Chemistry Nobel Prize winner and head of the Institute for Protein Design at Washington University.
This investment will also help to unlock unique strategic capabilities for UK AI and biosciences, securing the nation’s critical influence over a sector fundamental to growth, health, and wellbeing.
Investors from industry and philanthropy will be convened shortly to have the opportunity to co-invest and take the project to a point of maximum ambition. These discussions will includes a roundtable at 10 Downing Street including Isomorphic Labs, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Apheris, Chai Discovery, Genesis Therapeutics, Odyssey Therapeutix, Renaissance Philanthropy, and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.
Professor Gianluigi Botton, CEO, Diamond Light Source, said: “At Diamond Light Source, a Joint Venture between the UK government through STFC and the Wellcome Trust, we are proud to be at the forefront of the UK’s ambition to lead the world in AI-driven drug discovery. OpenBind represents an exciting step forward in harnessing our unique capabilities t generate the high-quality data that AI needs to revolutionise healthcare, helping to cement the UK’s position as a global hub for bioscience innovation.”
Sir Demis Hassabis, CEO, Isomorphic Labs, said: “High-quality biochemical data supports superior AI models, which in turn helps us design new drug candidates faster. We’re delighted to partner with the OpenBind Consortium and the UK government to cultivate this vital resource. This is a brilliant initiative for UK science, and we’re proud to support it from its inception. Artificial Intelligence has become one of the key drivers of the government’s Plan for Change, with its adoption across the economy sparking economic growth and creating jobs. Earlier this year the Prime Minister launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan – taking forward 50 recommendations which will mainline the technology into all sectors of the economy.”
The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said: “London Tech Week is where we lay down a marker – not just as a government with technology at the heart of our agenda, but as a country that will harness its opportunities for the global good. OpenBind is a prime example of how we’re doing exactly that. Through home-grown AI expertise, we will be the driving force that doesn’t just treat, but beats disease – benefitting every person in the world.”
Image provided by Harwell Campus and credited to Professor Frank von Delft, Diamond’s principal scientist of the MX I04-1 beamline and the XChem facility