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A startup that uses software to discover new drugs just raised $10 million

By Administrator | 23 March 2018

  • TwoXar, a startup that uses software to discover new experimental drugs, just raised $US10 million.
  • The series A round was led by SoftBank Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz and OS Fund joining in.
  • The company hopes to identify new treatments that can be tested on animals, and then ideally with human trials, without using a traditional lab.


TwoXar, a startup with software designed to discover new drugs, just raised $US10 million.

The series A round was led by SoftBank Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz and OS Fund joining in.

The company was founded by Andrew A. Radin, the CEO, and Andrew M. Radin, the chief marketing officer. The name TwoXar is a nod to the founders’ having the same name (two times their initials, AR).

JP Lee, a managing director at SoftBank Ventures, told Business Insider that the firm had been looking for investments in which artificial intelligence could be used to save time or cost. TwoXar’s software-based drug-discovery platform fit the bill.

“Basically, they’re all purely software-based – they don’t even have their own lab,” Lee said.

To see how that works, picture a pharmaceutical company on the hunt for new drugs to develop. Traditionally, that company would seek to figure out the science behind a particular disease, working to find disease targets it could then design drugs to go after. This can be a lengthy process involving a lot of lab work and uncertainty over whether the drug will work when it is tested on animals. Read more

Lydia Ramsay - Business Insider Australia - 19 Mar 2018

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