Alchemab, a UK biotech company focused on harnessing the power of adaptive immune systems to cure disease, announced a strategic partnership with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) to accelerate its adoption of artificial intelligence. As part of this partnership, Alchemab is establishing a presence in Edmonton and hiring a dedicated apprentice to support advanced research sourced and supervised by Amii.
“At Alchemab, we use a data-driven approach to learn what makes people healthy, and translate these findings into developing novel antibody therapies. By partnering with Amii, we are enhancing our machine learning capabilities, which will be pivotal in building the next generation of antibody discovery technologies. I look forward to working with the team at Amii,” says Alex Leech - Alchemab CEO.
Alchemab identifies “elite controllers” – or especially resilient individuals – and learns how they overcome or resist disease to develop novel therapeutics through its proprietary drug development platform. The company has a range of programmes across cancers, neurodegenerative conditions and infectious diseases.
“Innovative teams like Alchemab are positioned to make profound improvements for individuals experiencing complex and life-altering illnesses. Our role in translating scientific breakthroughs in AI into industry adoption was developed specifically to support teams like Alchemab. Our scientists, educators and researchers are poised to coach the team to help them reach their goals with greater efficiency and speed. When a company like Alchemab succeeds, the positive impact of technology adoption is felt around the globe. We’re proud to play a role in their AI journey, “ says Cam Linke - Amii CEO.
Alchemab is a UK biotech company incorporated in 2019 and backed by leading healthcare investors – SV Health Investors, DCVC Bio and the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF).
One of Canada’s three centres of AI excellence as part of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Amii (the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) is an Alberta-based non-profit institute that supports world-leading research in artificial intelligence and machine learning and translates scientific advancement into industry adoption. Amii grows AI capacity through advancing leading-edge research, delivering exceptional educational offerings and providing business advice – all with the goal of building in-house AI capabilities. For more information, visit amii.ca.
What is artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is a discipline of computing science that allows a system to complete tasks we typically associate with cognitive functions – such as reasoning, strategizing and problem-solving – without requiring an explicit solution for every variation.
Why focus on machine learning?
Machine learning is a set of computational techniques that use data to create models that make predictions about future data. These models independently learn and continuously adapt to changing environments without being explicitly programmed for the data they encounter. Machine learning is a crucial component in many artificial intelligence systems.
Industry is particularly interested in adopting applied machine learning, and investing in advanced research in the field, because of the focus on using historical data to inform future opportunities for systems improvement, discoveries, and augmenting human-cognitive capacity.