DSP-1181: drug created using AI enters clinical trials

Two companies have announced that their drug, DSP-1181, which was created using artificial intelligence (AI), has entered a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). DSP-1181 is a long-acting, potent serotonin 5-HT1A receptor agonist.

Created through the joint venture of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma in Japan and the UK’s Exscientia, DSP-1181 was developed using the latter’s AI platform for drug discovery. According to the companies, they completed the exploratory research phase in under 12 months with this technique.

Toru Kimura, Senior Executive Officer and Senior Executive Research Director of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, said: “We are very excited with the results of the joint research that resulted in the development of candidate compounds in a very short time. Exscientia’s sophisticated AI drug discovery technologies combined with our company’s deep experience in monoamine GPCR drug discovery, allowed us to work synergistically, delivering a highly successful outcome. We will continue to work hard to make this clinical study a success so that it may deliver new benefits to patients as soon as possible.”

Professor Andrew Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Exscientia, stated: “We believe that this entry of DSP-1181, created using AI, into clinical studies is a key milestone in drug discovery. This project’s rapid success was through strong alignment of the integrated knowledge and experiences in chemistry and pharmacology on monoamine GPCR drug discovery at Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma with our AI technologies. We are proud that our AI drug discovery platform Centaur Chemist™ has contributed to generate DSP-1181 and look forward to its progression as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder.”