China-based XtalPi, a pioneering pharmaceutical technology startup powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, has announced a strategic collaboration with the Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC), Singapore's national platform for drug discovery and development hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of Singapore(A*STAR), to discover novel treatment candidates for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 

The estimated global market size for NSCLC therapeutics will exceed $20 billion by 2027, according to Research and Markets. Despite increasing interest and investment in drug research, there remains significant unmet needs for effective targeted therapy options for NSCLC patients to achieve better outcomes. 

In this collaboration, XtalPi joins forces with EDDC to apply its AI technology, automation platform, and expert domain knowledge to discover promising candidates against a NSCLC target chosen by EDDC.

XtalPi will leverage its quantum physics and AI-driven platform to generate and screen through millions of molecules in de novo drug design. The predicted top-performing molecules with desirable drug properties will be validated and optimised in its robotics-powered synthesis and testing lab through iterations. EDDC will offer valuable insight and data on the novel NSCLC target, further accelerating the drug discovery process and propelling the program towards development.