Simulations Plus (SLP) Joins SACF to Develop Anticancer Drugs
Simulations Plus SLP recently announced that it has partnered with the Sino-American Cancer Foundation ("SACF") to boost development of anticancer therapies.
Simulations Plus will be using its Artificial Intelligence-powered Drug Design (AIDD) technology in the ADMET Predictor software platform. This will aid in acceleration of the discovery and design of new inhibitors for a new cancer target — methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2).
ADMET Predictor is the company’s flagship software platform for ADMET (chemical absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) modeling, and features data analysis, metabolism prediction and AI-driven drug design functionalities.
SLP added that it will be working on development of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models by utilizing information available from both academic/patent literature and SACF to test effectiveness against MTHFD2. SACF will be funding upfront to Simulations Plus to develop novel compounds effective against MTHFD2 and those compounds will be exclusive to SACF.
SLP’s Early Drug Discovery Services team will collaborate with SACF researchers to outline multi-objective parameters against which the lead molecule(s) will be “optimized”. Following that, the new prepared AIDD Module in ADMET Predictor will then be used to generate several virtual compounds that are optimized for the selected parameters, noted Simulations Plus.
Simulations Plus, Inc. Price and Consensus
Simulations Plus, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Simulations Plus, Inc. Quote
Post that, only promising compounds will be used for synthesis and testing followed by subsequent rounds of QSAR model building and AIDD optimization, added SLP.
Headquartered in Lancaster, CA, Simulations Plus develops drug discovery and development simulation softwares, which are licensed to and used in the conduct of drug research by major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide.
The company’s performance is being driven by strength in its Services revenues, which increased 17% to $5.9 million in the last reported quarter. Software revenues were affected due to changes in renewal pattern and shift in revenue seasonality.
For fiscal 2023, SLP expects revenue growth of 10-15% year over year and in the range of $59.3-$62 million. For the fiscal year, the company expects Software and Services to consist 60-65% and 35-40% of revenues, respectively.
The company recently partnered with the Institute of Medical Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IMB PAS) to design new compounds for the RORγ/RORγT nuclear receptors. As part of the agreement, Simulations Plus will be leveraging artificial intelligence / machine learning technologies in the ADMET Predictor platform for development of new compounds.
SLP carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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