Jan. 15, 2020 14:00 UTC

TORONTO & SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AUM Biosciences (AUM), a Singapore-headquartered clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to speedily developing affordable cancer therapies, and Cyclica, a Toronto-based biotechnology company leveraging AI and computational biophysics to decentralize drug discovery, today announced a partnership under Project Nexus to apply Cyclicas proprietary drug discovery platform in AUMs diverse R&D programs for the early-stage discovery of novel cancer therapies.

While there has been remarkable progress over the past few decades, cancer remains a major concern, with one in every six deaths being related to cancer. With the complex nature of cancer, researchers are faced with challenges in developing effective and affordable cancer treatments using classical drug discovery approaches, which ultimately results in barriers to affordability and availability of life-saving medicines for patients in need.

In this strategic partnership, AUM will deploy its drug development expertise, including a biomarker-driven approach, and utilize Cyclicas integrated AI-augmented and structure-based platform, Ligand Design and Ligand Express, which together will design advanced lead-like molecules that minimize unwanted off-target effects while providing a holistic understanding of a molecule's activity through integrated systems biology and structural pharmacogenomics.

The ability to delve deeper into complex medical outcomes enhances the potential for discovery and assessment of novel molecules while in the development stage, which reduces the risk of failure and expedites the process, said Vishal Doshi, CEO of AUM Biosciences. We are excited about this partnership with Cyclica, which will help us discover the undiscovered to address the needs of patients in Asia.

Cyclicas goal is to decentralize the discovery of medicines by partnering with hyper innovative biotechs globally. We are impressed with AUMs expertise in drug development and our shared passion for tackling disease areas that are among the most intricate and impactful, says Cyclicas President & CEO, Naheed Kurji.

Cyclica will receive an upfront payment as well as milestone payments upon the completion of specific stages for Project Nexus. AUM will maintain rights for future development and commercialization of drug assets resulting from Project Nexus.

About AUM Biosciences

AUM Biosciences (AUM) is an oncology-focused Asian biotechnology company committed to developing affordable cancer therapies. AUM is dedicated to revolutionize the existing inefficient drug development paradigm by harnessing the power of precision medicine and digitization. AUM focuses on early stage development of innovative treatment of cancers prevalent in Asia with the potential to address global markets. Led by a highly-experienced management team with over 100 years of oncology drug development experience combined, AUM is disrupting the drug development paradigm by implementing a holistic approach to developing drugs. Headquartered in Singapore, AUM is strategically positioned to work, partner and collaborate with leading research institutes, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies globally. AUM is the recipient of Frost & Sullivans 2019 Asia-Pacific Biotech Entrepreneurial Company of the Year. AUM current pipeline includes global rights for 2 first-in-class drugs, Mnk Inhibitor (AUM001), and Pan PIM/PI3K/mTOR Inhibitor (AUM302). AUM001 is currently undergoing Phase I and expected to be Phase II ready by mid 2020. For more information, please visit http://www.aumbiosciences.com

About Cyclica, Inc

Cyclica is a Toronto, Canada based biotechnology company that is decentralizing the discovery of new medicines with its integrated structure-based and AI-augmented drug discovery platform, Ligand Design and Ligand Express. Taken together Ligand Design and Ligand Express design advanced lead-like molecules that minimize unwanted off-target effects, while providing a holistic understanding of a molecule's activity through integrated systems biology and structural pharmacogenomics. Cyclicas differentiated platform opens new opportunities for drug discovery, including multi-targeted and multi-objective drug design, lead optimization, ADMET-property prediction, target deconvolution, and drug repurposing for a wide range of indications. With a world--class team with deep roots in industry and a first-in-class integrated drug discovery platform, Cyclica will spark a surge of innovation through a combination of venture creation and partnerships with early-stage and emerging biotech companies. By doing more with AI, Cyclica will revolutionize a system troubled with attrition and costly failures, accelerate the drug discovery process, and develop medicines with greater precision.

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Cyclica and AUM Biosciences to Partner on Developing Novel Cancer Therapies with Greater Precision and Speed, under Project Nexus - BioSpace