Insilico Medicine To Open Its Largest Al-Powered Biotechnology Research Centre

The grand opening at the IRENA headquarters atrium in Masdar City, witnessed by nearly 100 ecosystem partners from the government and many more.

The grand opening occurred at the IRENA headquarters atrium in Masdar City, as highlighted in the report; the opening was witnessed by nearly 100 ecosystem partners from the government, academia, the investment community, and the AI and biotech industries.

The event featured speeches from Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications; Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico; and Alex Aliper, PhD, President of Insilico.

"The prime location, strong and stable economy, developed infrastructure, and highly educated talent make Abu Dhabi an emerging hub that attracts high-tech companies from around the world." "We are excited to be a part of this," said the president of Insilico, who will serve as the regional hub’s general manager.

"We plan to hire people from the area and work closely with biotech companies and academic partners to licence Insilico's proprietary software and work together on joint research projects to help the local healthcare industry become more digital."

Ahmed Baghoum, Acting CEO of Masdar City, commented, "This is exactly the kind of groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence that we aim to support in our free zone and innovation ecosystem."

"We're excited about this milestone for insilico medicine, especially since it occurs during the Year of Sustainability."We look forward to the transformational research that will come out of this incredible new hub. "We thank the Abu Dhabi Investment Office for attracting these organisations to Masdar City," he added.

Insilico has made steady inroads into the Middle East. On January 31, 2023, the company announced that it would receive support from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to establish its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi focused on R&D for its AI platform.

Abdulla Abdul Aziz AlShamsi, ADIO's acting director general, said, "ADIO congratulates Insilico Medicine on opening a regional headquarters in the UAE capital." Abu Dhabi has prioritised advancing technological solutions that further economic progress for the region and beyond.

"Insilico Medicine is a stellar example of the success of that strategy and proof of the limitless opportunities available for health tech companies in Abu Dhabi,"  AlShamsi added.

In August 2022, the company announced that Prosperity7 Ventures, the diversified growth fund of Aramco Ventures, would lead a Series D2 investment. This would allow the company to bring its AI biotechnology expertise to Saudi Arabia.

According to the report, the company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia. This includes giving local biotech companies access to Insilico's end-to-end AI drug discovery platform, working with local biotechs on robotic drug discovery, contributing to local clinical trial expertise, and developing more projects to help people live longer and healthier lives.

Insilico founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, was also a featured speaker at the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September 2022, an event focused on AI for the good of humanity.

He said, "We're excited to grow our presence and network in the area by making Abu Dhabi a real AI drug discovery hub."

Insilico Medicine’s mission has been to extend healthy, productive longevity for everyone on the planet. Over the past decade, they have developed a platform for drug discovery and longevity and have become one of the dominant companies in the field.

Now their next step is to extend their global infrastructure to the Middle East.