NEW YORK – French bioinformatics company Owkin said Thursday that it is partnering with ADC Therapeutics to develop artificial intelligence-based models to identify novel biomarkers for treating hematologic cancers.
Lausanne, Switzerland-based ADC Therapeutics develops targeted antibody drug conjugates to fight cancer.
"Blood cancers affect hundreds of thousands of people globally every year," Owkin Chief Solutions Officer David Cahané said in a statement. "We are pleased to be working with ADC Therapeutics to harness the power of AI to improve the treatment of hematologic cancer patients and to help accelerate the development of novel medicines."
ADC Therapeutics previously entered into a biomarker development deal with Freenome to identify patients who are most likely to respond to treatment with ADC's experimental lymphoma treatment loncastuximab tesirine (ADCT-402). The biotech also has worked with Sophia Genetics to identify genomic markers associated with clinical response to ADCT-402.
Last year, Owkin received a $180 million investment from Sanofi in a deal that includes biomarker discovery. Owkin said that the investment made the company a "unicorn," a privately held startup valued at more than $1 billion.