In this article, AI drug pioneer Recursion Pharmaceuticals announced that one of its experimental treatments has achieved a significant milestone. Utilizing its artificial intelligence-enabled drug discovery platform, Recursion identified a target area in biology for treating solid tumors and lymphoma, matched it with a drug candidate, and obtained regulatory approval to commence studies in less than 18 months. CEO and co-founder Chris Gibson expressed excitement about this achievement, highlighting its significance for the company and the techbio industry.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the investigational new drug application for a phase 1/2 clinical trial of REC-1245, an experimental drug candidate. Recursion stated that the potential market for this treatment could encompass over 100,000 patients in the U.S. and European Union. The trial will assess the safety and tolerability of REC-1245 and is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of the current year. The company aims to complete phase 1 data from the dose-escalation segment of the study by the end of the following year.
REC-1245 targets RBM39, identified by Recursion as functionally similar to the challenging marker CDK12, for treating advanced biomarker-enriched cancers like ovarian, prostate, breast, and pancreatic cancers. Gibson emphasized the innovative nature of this program, which emerged from Recursion’s extensive biological dataset developed over 11 years. He highlighted the program’s utilization of new tools created by the company.
Artificial intelligence is anticipated to accelerate drug discovery and reduce costs by streamlining the screening and selection of drug candidates. Recursion, backed by investors like Nvidia, has observed a 38% decline in its shares in 2024 but remains over 60% below its 52-week high. The company intends to merge with Exscientia, another AI-drug discovery firm, to enhance its data capabilities, with the merger expected to conclude early next year.
While most analysts rate Recursion shares as a hold, two analysts have issued a buy rating on the stock, according to FactSet. The average analyst price target of $10.14 suggests a potential 64% return.
