Startups in China push drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases

China-based startups Insilico Medicine and 4B Technologies have signed a strategic collaboration agreement in advancing the development of innovative small molecule therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other major neurological diseases. ALS is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the five incurable diseases with no effective treatments to date and an average surviving duration of 3-5 years. This strategic collaboration will enable Insilico’s AI technology to be widely applied in various stages of R&D to speed up novel drug discovery by combining 4B Technologies’ breakthrough science and cutting-edge platform technologies in CNS drug discovery and development. Both companies will work together closely in an effort to discover novel treatments for ALS through identifying high-quality targets and therapeutic agents with an aim of improving the efficiency and probability of success to benefit patients worldwide.