GDBspace collaborates on a Proof-of-Concept project with Lonza

With more than 166 billion molecules, GDBspace provides the world‘s largest collection of virtual chemical molecules. Its proprietary TMAP platform organises multiple existing libraries of molecules on a visual map. The resulting “google map of molecules” enables easy browsing of molecules and unlimited forms of combination beyond the boundaries of the conventional discovery of novel molecules (e.g., lead finding in pharmaceuticals). TMAP offers intuitive human insights to empower smarter, faster and cheaper discovery predictions. Currently, the startup has completed the development of an alpha-version product demo and filed for a patent.

Renowned companies collaborate with GDBspace
Founded at the end of November 2019 by Jingwen Shi and professor Jean-Louis Reymond, GDBspace has already signed several agreements (e.g., software licenses, sponsored research) with large chemicals and pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, the company launched three paid Proof-Of-Concept projects with three companies. One of them is Lonza which employed GDBspace's technology platform to visually map and combine several large molecule libraries in silico, generate "hits" by selecting representative molecules by cluster, and further, generate and optimize "leads" in the proximity of the desired hits.

„GDBspace helped us to better understand the relationship between various structures and specific biological activities as well as to identify previously unexplored regions of this chemical space“, said a spokesperson from Lonza.

The second undisclosed client whom GDBspace provided tailored technologies to meet their needs in terms of its functionalities and search algorithms, has fully integrated GDBspace's TMAP onto their in-house informatics platform. According to Jingwen, CEO and founder of GDBspace: “This pilot project serves as validation to GDBspace's technologies in the accelerated discovery of molecules. In the cosmetics industry, the discovery cycle is much shorter compared to the pharmaceutical industry, for instance. Hence, GDBspace's technologies have again proved to be instrumental in accelerating the process and improving the outcome.”

GDBspace helps to identify  inhibitors against Covid-19
Further, the startup supported a client’s molecule screening activities and design of Covid-19 inhibitors for the treatment of coronavirus infections. According to the partner, "In the race to win the coronavirus, we used GDBspace’s computational technology to identify molecules as inhibitors against Covid-19. This speeds up our work from months to days." As a result, lead molecules with potent inhibitory activities on live Covid-19 (IC50=32nM) were synthesized and validated in a P3 lab in a matter of months.

Building strong a track-record
Besides winning partnerships, GDBspace’s technology has been featured in C&EN, and Drug Target Review as well as numerous peer-reviewed articles on the academic side. The company has won awards such as the be-advanced challenge and a spot to participate in internationalisation programs such as the upcoming Startup Bootcamp organised by Swissnex Boston and Swissnex New York in collaboration with Innosuisse.

(RAN)