Formation Bio is a pioneering startup that has been making waves in the field of drug development by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline clinical trials and improve drug efficacy. With backing from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Formation has just raised an impressive $372 million in its Series D funding round, led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Partnership Acquisition Efforts and R&D Drive Funding

The new tranche of funding brings Formation’s total raised to over $600 million (according to PitchBook), which the company is using mainly for partnership acquisition efforts and research and development (R&D). The funding will also help Formation build on its AI-powered tech, which is designed to revolutionize the drug development process.

Background of Founders

Formation was co-founded by Benjamine Liu and Linhao Zhang in 2016. Liu has a background in computational biology, having conducted neuroscience research at Oxford and UPenn. Zhang is a software developer by trade and worked at Salesforce before joining Oscar Insurance as a product engineer.

Addressing the Challenges of Drug Development

Drug development is an expensive and challenging endeavor that takes an average of 10 to 15 years from initial discovery through regulatory approval, with costs reaching up to $5.5 billion per drug. Additionally, an estimated 90% of drugs fail to reach the market.

Formation claims it can run clinical trials more efficiently by streamlining processes such as study startup, participant recruitment, and data management. The company is currently deploying AI to generate patient recruitment materials and reports for adverse events. It’s also fine-tuning AI models to provide drug development teams with recommendations for R&D decisions and better predict drug toxicity, tolerability, and efficacy.

Collaboration with OpenAI and Sanofi

Last month, Formation announced a collaboration with OpenAI and Sanofi to jointly design and develop customized AI solutions for drug development. OpenAI said it would contribute access to AI capabilities and expertise, while Sanofi would bring proprietary data for developing AI models.

This partnership gives the appearance of conflict of interest, given that Altman was involved in Formation’s Series C fundraising. However, OpenAI PR told TechCrunch that the deal was led by OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap and the board of directors did not indicate whether Altman recused himself from participating in this particular collaboration.

OpenAI’s Involvement

At Sanofi, we’re all in on AI,’ said Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson in a press release. ‘And we are proud to partner with and invest in Formation Bio, whose AI-driven drug development vision and capabilities will help lead our industry forward in the shared ambition to accelerate and improve how we bring more new medicines to patients.’

Formation’s Clinical Pipeline

Formation has three drug candidates in its clinical pipeline, including treatments for chronic hand eczema, sensory neuropathy, and knee osteoarthritis. The furthest along is the eczema treatment, which is currently in phase II trials.

Rise of AI in Drug Development

The use of AI in drug development is becoming increasingly popular as companies like Formation are pioneering new approaches to improve drug efficacy and reduce costs. With OpenAI’s involvement, Formation is well-positioned to drive innovation in this space.

Conclusion

Formation Bio’s Series D funding round demonstrates the growing interest in AI-powered tech for drug development. As more companies like Formation leverage AI to streamline clinical trials and improve drug efficacy, we can expect significant advancements in this field.

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