Today, the UK’s largest AI company, BenevolentAI, announced a partnership with MCR Technology (MCRT), which will help to continue the company’s efforts to develop new and life-changing drugs more efficiently through the power of AI.

BenevolentAI is the global leader in the development and application of AI for scientific innovation, and they have just announced an important partnership with MRC Technology (MRCT), which could see the UK-based AI company establishing themselves as a key player in the pharmaceutical industry. MRCT is a self-funded charity devoted to conducting scientific research into human health. In the past, they have partnered with academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and other charity organisations to try to help boost the advancement of medical research and develop treatments for patients.

This new venture between BenevolentAI and MRCT marks a pivotal step into demonstrating how AI can aid the progression of the pharmaceutical industry, which many professionals claim is far behind on adopting the new technology compared to other industry verticals. Both organisations will collaborate on developing new drugs by sharing confidential molecular disease targets.

According to a statement made by BenevolentAI, this will be done in two ways. Firstly, “BenevolentAI will share disease targets produced by its technology with MRCT who will then undertake the complex chemistry to create a lead compound.  BenevolentAI will then undertake further preclinical and clinical development of the compound.” Secondly, “MRCT will run molecules or antibodies that it believes may hit a target through BenevolentAI’s technology platform to validate.  If validation is confirmed, MRCT will either continue to partner with BenevolentAI or work with another partner to develop the target further.”

“The combination of our technology and R&D experience, together with MRCT’s screening and hit to lead capabilities, is powerful.  It’s a novel model and I believe that our two organisations’ complimentary skills and capabilities will enable the search for, and development of, new medicines to proceed much more quickly,” commented Jackie Hunter, CEO of BenevolentBio, a subsidiary of BenevolentAI.

“As a charity we are always eager to pursue opportunities that can lead to new treatments for patients. Exploring promising targets via BenevolentAI’s data mining and insight is an exciting new area for us and we hope to really advance medical science through our collaboration,” added Dr. Justin Bryans, Director, Drug Discovery, MRC Technology.