in 2018 to try to help reduce the high costs pharmaceutical companies face for developing drugs. The young entrepreneurs seek to shorten the process through algorithms. DP Technology, which itself isn’t a pharmaceutical company, uses artificial intelligence that analyzes medical data to pinpoint potential candidates for new drugs.
The startup tries to model its algorithm on quantum mechanics, or a theory in physics on how particles such as atoms and electrons work. According to Sun and Zhang, computers which understand those physical equations can simulate potential ways disease-causing proteins react to various molecules, thereby helping to identify a possible cure with potentially higher accuracy. “We simulate what happens in the micro world,” says chief scientist Zhang. “We move lab tests to computers.
Zhang and Sun met at China’s Peking University. They were in different courses—Zhang studied mathematics and Sun management—but often played basketball together. After graduation, Sun worked at Beijing-based venture firm Will Hunting Capital, while Zhang pursued a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at Princeton. They decided to launch a business together after Zhang traveled back to China in 2018.
The cofounders say DP’s clients include Hong Kong-listed Hansoh Pharmaceutical, Shanghai-based Pharma Resources and Wuxi-based Biortus Biosciences, which use the startup’s software to research potential new drugs. Battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology is also a client. It uses DP’s tailored algorithm to analyze chemicals and research new battery materials.“We teach AI to understand science principles,” says chief executive Sun. “We provide a model to compute industrial problems.
DP has received venture funding, in January raising tens of millions of dollars in its series B round from investors including Qiming Venture Partners and Source Code Capital. Sun says the next goal is getting more clients. “For pharma, we are focusing on discovering new drugs for tumor-, neuro- and immune-related diseases,” he says.Sun and Zhang are not the only 30 Under 30 Asia listees turning to AI to improve healthcare.
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