CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. and Valo Health, Inc. announced the identification of a promising drug candidate for the treatment of lupus and other autoimmune disorders. This breakthrough marks the first successful identification of a potential therapeutic through Logica®, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform for drug discovery.
The candidate, developed under the ongoing collaboration with Flagship Pioneering’s drug development unit, Pioneering Medicines, addresses a critical unmet medical need in autoimmune diseases. The discovery is a significant milestone in the companies’ partnership, demonstrating the potential of Logica to accelerate and enhance the drug discovery process.
“This first lead candidate provides proof-of-concept for Logica as a powerful tool to expedite drug discovery in a key therapeutic area,” said Professor Julie Frearson, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Charles River. “We are excited to continue working with our partners at Valo Health and Flagship Pioneering to advance this program into lead optimization.”
Logica was developed as a result of a strategic partnership between Charles River and Valo Health. The platform combines Valo’s AI-powered Opal Computational Platform™ with Charles River’s expertise in drug discovery and preclinical development to transform the drug discovery process. By integrating these technologies, Logica provides a seamless approach from target identification to candidate nomination.
The Logica Advanceable Lead (Logica-AL) program leverages Valo’s DNA-encoded libraries and high-throughput screening capabilities from Charles River to identify potent drug candidates. The Logica Candidate (Logica-C) platform then uses predictive models to rapidly advance these leads into potential clinical candidates, ultimately preparing them for IND-enabling studies.
“Our collaboration with Charles River and Valo Health has been driven by a shared goal of accelerating the development of therapies for patients with limited treatment options,” said Luisa Salter-Cid, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Pioneering Medicines. “The early success of Logica in identifying a potential autoimmune therapy has bolstered our confidence in this approach, and we look forward to progressing this program further.”
