Kuano.ai raises £1m seed to de-risk and accelerate drug discovery using artificial intelligence and quantum computing

The funding will go towards further development of its platform for generating better enzyme inhibitors

London, 8 July 2021 – Kuano.ai, a software platform for rapid, cost effective quantum modelling of enzymes, has raised £1 million in seed funding from ACF Investors, o2h Ventures and a syndicate of Cambridge-based angel investors. The funding will accelerate the company’s growth as it moves further towards commercialisation.

Kuano combines quantum physics, artificial intelligence (AI) and medicinal chemistry in a unique approach to transforming the discovery of therapeutics focused on enzyme inhibition. Enzymes represent the largest class of drug targets, with over $40bn of pharmaceutical sales attributable to small molecule inhibitors of enzymes. The market is seeing considerable demand for enzyme inhibitors, which can provide improved drug potency, selectivity or reduced susceptibility to resistance.

Kuano is meeting this need through its novel, proprietary software platform for rapid, cost effective quantum modelling of enzymes. Kuano uses these models in combination with AI and chemistry approaches to design optimised inhibitors with improved properties for use in medicines.

Kuano is using its platform to advance its own pipeline of novel therapeutics targeting unmet medical needs, as well as in collaborative programs with leading academic and commercial partners. This includes a recent research collaboration with Alzheimer’s Research UK University College London Drug Discovery Institute to identify inhibitors for treating degenerative neurological disorders.

The £1 million in funding will go towards expanding the technology team and the further development of Kuano’s platform and asset development, including its own range of novel therapeutics. It will also be used to create a data bank for use in its work with academic and commercial partners.

Dr. Vid Stojevic, Co-Founder CEO of Kuano said:

• “With this investment, our investors have affirmed the strength of our technology and its commercial potential. Building upon years of research, this funding will drive the development of our platform, facilitate the rollout of our own range of therapeutics and expand our team. As our recent collaboration with the UCL Drug Discovery Institute has shown, we are beginning to have a potent effect on the pharmaceutical industry and I am looking forward to the many ways in which we can make a decisive contribution to medicine worldwide”

Tim Mills, Managing Partner of ACF Investors said:

“Kuano is a great exemplar of the strength of deeptech in the UK. Harnessing the step change in capability delivered by quantum analysis techniques and advanced machine learning and pushing the boundary of medicinal chemistry, Kuano’s platform has the potential to transform the discovery of enzyme inhibitors and create significantly more effective medicines. We are delighted to be supporting Vid and the highly experienced Kuano team on their growth journey. With a targeted range of therapeutics and a platform with enormous commercial potential, Kuano is set to make a major impact in the delivery of future therapeutics.”

Sunil Shah, CEO at o2h Ventures said:

“We are very pleased to back Kuano in this venture.  Being able to more accurately understand and predict subtle changes around enzyme’s active sites could unlock faster opportunities to push inhibitors for difficult drug targets through discovery and development.  Vid and Dave using their knowledge of quantum physics and Parminder with her previous big pharma and biotech drug discovery experience make a great team to both develop the platform and advance the drug assets from this.  I am very much looking forward to joining the board and supporting this venture”.

ENDS

About Kuano

Kuano is an artificial intelligence company, headquartered in London, England, using quantum simulations to create molecular design solutions to challenging enzyme targets.  Enzymes represent the largest clinically and commercially validated class of drug targets. Over $40bn of pharmaceutical sales are attributable to small molecule inhibitors of enzymes and yet there is considerable demand for enzyme inhibitors with improved potency, selectivity or reduced susceptibility to resistance. Kuano has developed a proprietary in silico approach to modelling the unique quantum transition state of the catalytic site of enzymes, defining the quantum pharmacophore and coupling this to a quantum-computing inspired, AI/machine learning approach to discovering novel inhibitors. In the quantum transition state, fundamental physics and evolutionary biology combine to create the conditions necessary to give enzymes their exquisite selectivity and activity. Drugs designed specifically to target Kuano’s proprietary quantum pharmacophores are predicted to have improved potency, selectivity and resistance to mutations compared to drugs designed using traditional approaches.

For more information about Kuano, please visit www.kuano.ai

About ACF Investors

Launched in 2011, ACF Investors (formerly the Angel CoFund) is a privately managed and commercially focused venture capital fund that works alongside sector smart business angels to invest in high potential SMEs across the UK, directly providing funding to support exceptional businesses.

To date ACF Investors has supported more than100 companies (for example Ebury, Gousto, Creo Medical and Form3) providing more than £50 million in direct investment alongside more than £300m from business angels and other investors, making it one of the most active early-stage investors in the country.

To find out more, please visit www.acfinvestors.com

About o2h Ventures

The o2h human health knowledge intensive EIS fund was the first HMRC approved KI fund in the UK.  The fund is focused on investing in EIS companies covering novel drug discovery & AI, digital therapeutics and enabling services. The o2h team are leaders in the biotech community and have been actively involved as investors, holding various board/industry positions as well as being engaged in grassroots scientific activity for over 20 years. o2h Ventures operates from their proprietary 2.7 acre Mill SciTech Park where they are developing a unique model for incubating small life science companies. www.o2hventures.com