BenevolentAI, a leading clinical-stage AI drug discovery company, announced that AstraZeneca has added a novel target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), discovered using BenevolentAI’s platform, to its drug development portfolio. This is the second novel target from the collaboration that has been identified, validated, and selected for AstraZeneca’s portfolio. 

BenevolentAI’s strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca began in 2019, and currently focuses on discovering potential new treatments for IPF and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The innovative collaboration structure sees scientists and technologists from the two companies working side-by-side, combining the Benevolent Platform — an AI-driven drug discovery platform — and biomedical knowledge graph with AstraZeneca’s scientific expertise and rich datasets.

IPF is a chronic and ultimately fatal disease that causes lung tissue to stiffen, leading to permanent lung scarring that makes it harder to breathe. As IPF progresses, patients often need oxygen and, in some cases, lung transplantation. With a median survival of ∼three years, the prognosis can be devastating, and there is a clear unmet need for better treatments.