Absci Corp (ABSI)

Absci is a data-first generative AI drug creation company that combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create better biologics, particularly antibody-based therapeutics, for patients faster. Its Integrated Drug Creation platform rests on three elements: data to train, AI to create, and a wet lab to validate. The SoluPro synthetic biology technology builds billions of genetically distinct E. coli-based cells, and the ACE assay evaluates and sorts hundreds of millions of designs on target binding, protein quality and expression titer.

The resulting data trains generative AI models that design antibodies optimized for affinity, low immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics and developability, and high-throughput wet lab validation can take AI-designed antibodies to validated candidates in as little as six weeks. The platform supports three core competencies: target discovery through reverse immunology, AI-guided de novo antibody creation, and AI-guided multi-parametric lead optimization. The company says this approach can cut preclinical timelines to 18-24 months and reduce time to IND to about two years.

Absci's business model has two parts. First, it forms drug creation partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which are responsible for preclinical and clinical testing and may license the resulting assets. Absci may receive clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and royalties on net sales.

As of December 31, 2023, it had 16 Active Programs with partners including PrecisionLife, Almirall (dermatology), AstraZeneca (oncology), Merck, Alpha Cancer Technologies (oncology), SFJ Pharmaceuticals (hematology, including the Phase 3 candidate bentracimab) and several undisclosed partners. Three of these programs follow its legacy model of developing production cell lines. Second, it develops a wholly-owned internal pipeline focused on cytokine biology: ABS-101, a TL1A-targeting candidate for inflammatory bowel disease that entered IND-enabling studies in February 2024, with an IND planned for the first quarter of 2025; ABS-201, an undisclosed dermatology target; and ABS-301, an undisclosed immuno-oncology target.

The company has also performed drug creation work on 32 additional molecules. Its strategy includes advancing internal assets to value inflection points before partnering or selling them, adding partners, expanding work with existing partners across target identification, lead optimization, de novo discovery and human antibody discovery, and growing the platform through R&D and strategic acquisitions. Competitors include AI-driven biologic design companies such as Generate Biomedicines and Exscientia, AI small-molecule companies that may move into antibodies, target identification companies, and antibody discovery firms such as AbCellera, Alloy Therapeutics and Adimab.