Insilico Medicine receives strategic investment from Chinese biotech firm

Baltimore-based Insilico Medicine landed a new strategic investment from Chinese biotech company WuXi AppTec.
The amount of the funding was not disclosed, but the investment also includes a strategic partnership between Insilico and WuXi, which specializes in contract research for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
Based at ETC’s Eastern campus, Insilico Medicine seeks to bring artificial intelligence and other technology to the process of identifying new potential pharmaceutical treatments, which is known as drug discovery. Before the investment, Insilico had already begun working with WuXi. Now, WuXi has agreed to test molecules identified by the Insilico’s technology. It enables Insilico to complete testing without investing in laboratory infrastructure, said CEO Alex Zhavoronkov.
“With the investment in Insilico Medicine, we are now taking our partnership to the next level by establishing a closer integration within WuXi AppTec’s own research capabilities to better serve the biopharmaceutical industry,” Edward Hu, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer of WuXi AppTec, said in a statement.  “We have been looking to collaborate with artificial intelligence-enabled technologies to enhance the drug discovery and development process.
WuXi’s venture arm led the round, which also included participation from Pavilion Capital, BOLD Capital Partners and existing Insilico Medicine partner Juvenescence. The company previously raised $14 million, per Crunchbase.