Pepticom, a leader in artificial intelligence peptide drug design and discovery, announced today that it has raised $2.6 million to establish a company to focus on treatments for the SARS-Cov-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak. The company, PeptiCov, will implement Pepticom’s AI technology to design, discover and develop novel peptide molecules for effective treatment of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. The funding round was led by the Chartered Group.
“Unfortunately, Covid-19 and the various viral mutations will likely be with us for a long time and thus effective treatment is key,” said Immanuel Lerner, Founder and CEO of Pepticom. “PeptiCov is focused on discovering and developing an effective treatment for SARS-Cov-2, which would allow the world to live alongside the virus rather than remain in lockdowns and other drastic measures.”
Pepticom’s unique artificial intelligence (AI) technology streamlines and significantly accelerates the ability to discover advanced peptide-based drug candidates. Pepticom’s AI technology enables the discovery of the most advanced peptide-based drug candidates by searching an enormous set of possible solutions, vastly reducing the risk of failure during development. It covers a chemical-space of 1030 possible molecular options – which is much larger than current screening techniques – while simultaneously filtering out the most suitable candidates with properties such as solubility and permeability amongst others. This software analyzed several protein targets related to the SARS-Cov-2 virus and designed a number of potential peptide drug candidates that were lab validated. PeptiCov will be responsible for further development of these peptides. PeptiCov will also actively be seeking partnerships with pharma companies.
The Chartered Group has previously invested in Pepticom and other Israeli deep tech companies and has broad networks in Europe, East Asia and Japan. “We made this investment out of our belief in Pepticom‘s application of AI via PeptiCov for SARS-Cov-2 drug discovery and early development,” said Eyal Agmoni, Chairman of Chartered Group and Technology division. “Pepticom‘s unique AI platform allows for various drug discovery efforts, and we are excited to join this spinoff company.”
- Michal Linial, PhD | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem “Coronavirus Cell Entry: Seeking The Achilles’ Heel”
- Dr Ariel Rokach | Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem “COVID19 Is One Year Old – What We Have Learned – Insights & Thoughts”
- Immanuel Lerner, Ph.D. , PhD | Pepticom Ltd. “Harnessing AI Technology For Peptide – Based Drug Discovery”
- Amit Michaeli, PhD | Pepticom Ltd. “Implementation Of Pepticom’s Technology In The COVID19 Pandemic”
About Pepticom
Pepticom is a privately held AI company with headquarters in Israel committed to offering AI peptide drug discovery solutions for a better and healthier world. It is the leader in the emerging peptide drugs software solutions, AI and prediction tools that allow research centers, pharma and agriculture companies to accelerate innovative molecules discovery while reducing time, costs and risks. Pepticom operates in various markets; past successful discoveries include peptide molecules related to metabolic diseases and Immuno-modulators. Pepticom was founded in 2011 by a select team of multidisciplinary PhD graduates from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. http://www.pepticom.com
Pepticom recently hosted a webinar with researchers, doctors and policy makers from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Shaarei Zedek Medical Center on “Beyond Vaccines- Harnessing AI to Accelerate Undiscovered Treatment for COVID19”. To view the webinar, click here.
About Chartered Group
The Chartered Group’s investments consist of five major business interests: Investment Banking, Private Credit, Real Estate, Hospitality and Technology. The Chartered Group’s Technology division invests in companies that develop disruptive technologies in wide areas including biomedical, artificial intelligence and IoT, to mention a few. Chartered Group also focuses on investments in Israeli early-stage start-ups as the anchor investor in TAU Ventures, the venture capital fund of Tel Aviv University. For more information, visit http://www.charteredgroup.com/
Company Contact: Dr. Maayan Elias, Ph.D., MBA, BSc. Pharm – SVP BD and Marketing
E-mail: maayan.elias at pepticom.com
For interviews: Estee Yaari, estee.yaari at gmail.com
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