TORONTO, ON, CANADA (November 30, 2017) – Cyclica is launching its novel cloud-based, proteome screening platform, Ligand Express™. The unique platform, which harnesses biophysics, biological data, and artificial intelligence (AI), is actively being used by pharmaceutical scientists to more efficiently navigate the drug discovery pipeline.
The web-accessible platform (www.ligandexpress.com) grants users access to Cyclica’s AI-assisted, structure-based, molecular simulation technology. Users can submit small molecules of interest to rapidly generate unique polypharmacology profiles. These profiles consist of on- and off-target interactions that may be expected, as well as those that are unanticipated, to aid decision making. Off-target interactions can be viewed using the platform’s interactive, analytical tools that enable exploration and facilitate deep insights that cannot be gained through traditional target-based approaches. By using cloud-computing, Cyclica accomplishes proteome screening without requiring hefty infrastructure on-site, with users needing only a laptop, internet-access, and browser. A short demo of Ligand Express can be found here.
Traditional design of small molecule therapies has focused on specific, disease-associated protein targets; however, once a drug enters the body it interacts with dozens, if not hundreds, of proteins targets. In a matter of only a few days, Ligand Express™ provides a panoramic view of a small-molecule, which aids in identifying novel targets, deconvoluting mechanism of action from phenotypic screening, elucidating adverse events, prioritizing leads, and determining new uses for existing drugs (repositioning/repurposing). Ligand Express™ augments discovery by providing scientists demonstrable and actionable insights to better understand a drug’s effect earlier in discovery, thereby reducing months or years of R&D time and associated costs.
Cyclica’s vision is to be an integral utility platform in the pharmaceutical R&D value chain and thereby catalyze a productivity revolution. To date, Ligand Express™ has been used by leading pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, and non-profit organizations in Canada, US, China and Brazil to risk adjust discovery efforts, and thereby save time and capital in moving better products forward.
About Cyclica
Cyclica Inc. has developed, validated, patented and commercialized Ligand Express™, a cloud-based platform that screens small-molecule drugs against repositories of structurally-characterized proteins or ‘proteomes’ to determine polypharmacological profiles. Accordingly, Ligand Express™ identifies significant protein targets using an innovative structure-based and drug-centric technology, leverages artificial intelligence to determine the drug’s effect on these targets, and visualizes the predicted drug-protein interactome using bioinformatics and systems biology. The platform provides a unique panoramic view of a small-molecule, by identifying on- and off-target interactions that may be expected, as well as those that are unanticipated. By understanding how a small-molecule drug will interact with all proteins in the body, Ligand Express™ augments scientific investigation by elucidating mechanism of action, prioritizing lead candidates, understanding side effects, as well as determining new uses for existing drugs. For more information please visit: www.cyclicarx.com