Description

The development of therapeutics suitable for patient use is a lengthy and very costly process. Despite advances, over 90% of potential new drug candidates ultimately fail not due to ineffective design, but because they do not reach the intended site of action or cause adverse events. These failures are largely attributable to inadequate drug disposition. While artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the early stages of drug discovery-accelerating effective molecule design and target identification-it remains largely ineffective at predicting how drugs behave in the human body. Currently, no robust AI tools exist to predict absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion or toxicity (ADMET)- critical elements of a drug’s clinical success. Addressing this gap represents a transformative opportunity to improve drug development outcomes and reduce drug candidates’ attrition rates. To address this critical unmet need, we are launching the Institute for Innovations in Disposition and Drug Delivery (I2D3) to develop predictive AI tools that will transform drug development. The University of Washington School of Pharmacy is a global leader in studying drug disposition-what happens to a drug in the human body – making it uniquely positioned to lead this effort. This initiative is a natural progression to harness the power of AI to improve the druggability of novel molecules. The new Institute will serve as a national hub for translational research and interdisciplinary training, preparing the next generation of drug scientists both graduate students and postdocs, leveraging UW’s deep expertise to harness AI to create safer, more effective therapies and accelerate their path to patients. I2D3 will be co-led by world renowned scientists across the School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine.

Partners

UW Seattle, School of Pharmacy, College of Engineering, School of Medicine, Institute for Protein Design (IPD), ITHS;

Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Genentech, AbbVie, Merck, Amgen, Raymond Evers, Global Head of Drug Metabolism, Johnson & Johnson

Funders

DMTSPR Consortium (Drug Metabolism Transport Systems Pharmacology Research), Johnson & Johnsons, We Reach, Matt Thomlinson and Dana Hurley (private donors), WRF