In this episode, VibeCast host Ray Dogum speaks with Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, about his journey to starting the company in 2014. Insilico Medicine's mission is to extend healthy productive longevity by transforming drug discovery and development with generative artificial intelligence. Key Moments: 00:00:08 - Introduction 00:01:14 - Dr. Zhavoronkov's Journey from Computer Science to Longevity Research 00:05:24 - Application of Deep Neural Networks in Biomedical Research 00:08:33 - Overcoming Challenges in AI Adoption in Biotech 00:17:07 - Ensuring Ethical and Unbiased AI in Healthcare 00:18:32 - Importance of Safety in Drug Development 00:21:53 - FDA Regulations and Drug Approval 00:26:42 - Global Collaboration and Opportunities in Africa 00:30:03 - Democratization of AI Technology 00:35:18 - Future of Biotech and AI 00:37:22 - The Future of Longevity Research 00:37:54 - Psychological Aging 00:38:22 - Conclusion and Call to Action Guest Bio: Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine (insilico.com), a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation generative artificial intelligence and robotics platforms for drug discovery. Since 2014, he has invented critical technologies in the field of generative artificial intelligence and reinforcement learning (RL) for the generation of novel molecular structures with the desired properties and the generation of synthetic biological and patient data. He also pioneered the applications of transformers and other deep learning technologies for the prediction of human biological age using multiple data types, transfer learning from aging into disease, target identification, and signaling pathway modeling. Under his leadership, Insilico raised over $400 million in multiple rounds from expert biotechnology, healthcare, and financial investors, opened R&D centers in 6 countries and regions, and partnered with multiple pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic institutions. Since 2021, the company nominated 18 preclinical candidates, started 6 human clinical trials, and entered Phase II with an AI-discovered novel target and AI-designed novel molecule. By 2023, 11 out of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies used a part of the Pharma.AI software suite, and the IND-stage cancer program was sold in a deal with $80 million upfront as a testament to the quality and novelty of the AI-generated molecule. Guest Links: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhavoronkov/ X: https://x.com/biogerontologyAdnexi Website: https://insilico.com/ About VibeCast VibeCast is our weekly informational podcast and content series exploring the hottest topics in drug development and AI. VibeCast is a collection of long-form and short-form video content intended to help our community learn about the current opportunities and challenges in biotech financing and community engagement innovation. Guests include biotech founders, regulatory experts, drug development executives, investors, web3 community builders, patient community advocates, and many other Vibe Bio community members seeking to accelerate the development of breakthrough treatments. Follow Vibe Bio's Socials: https://twitter.com/VibeBio https://www.linkedin.com/company/vibe-bio/ https://www.instagram.com/vibebiotechnology/ https://www.tiktok.com/@vibebio https://www.facebook.com/VibeBiotechnology/ Disclaimer: VibeCast is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes, and no information or opinions shared constitute advice or services. While guests are invited to listen, listeners acknowledge they are not being provided professional advice from the podcast or the guests. The podcast is for private non-commercial use and the statements of our guests reflect their personal views only and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any agency, organization, or company that they work for or are affiliated with.
