Evogene Announces Collaboration with Google Cloud to Pioneer Generative AI Foundation Model for Novel Small Molecule Design

The collaboration has the power to foster breakthroughs in small molecule innovation for life science-based products

REHOVOT, Israel, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), a leading computational biology company aiming to revolutionize life-science-based product discovery and development, today announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to develop a cutting-edge foundation model for generative small molecule de novo design, propelling Evogene's ChemPass AI tech-engine to new levels of innovation. ChemPass AI is a computational technology platform that directs and accelerates the discovery and development of novel products based on small molecules. This groundbreaking initiative seeks to advance the discovery and development of novel small molecules for drug development, sustainable crop protection, and other innovative products across a wide range of life-science industries.

Evogene will leverage Google Cloud's Vertex AI, GPUs on Google Compute Engine, and Google Cloud Storage to   provide the immense computational power and storage capacity required to create this innovative AI foundation model. This foundation model is being trained on a dataset of ~40 billion molecular structures and will serve as a powerful tool for generating and evaluating new potential candidates for breakthrough life science-based products, with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

The collaboration leverages Evogene's deep expertise in computational predictive biology and Google Cloud's leadership in AI and machine learning. This joint effort follows the successful integration of ChemPass AI into Google Cloud and will now focus on expanding the tech-engine's value through the creation of a state-of-the-art foundation model capable of generating and optimizing novel small molecule structures with desired properties.

This transformative technology has the potential to greatly expedite the drug discovery process, reduce costs, and increase the success rate of identifying promising drug candidates. In the agricultural sector, the foundation model will enable the development of innovative and sustainable solutions to address global challenges such as food security, crop protection, and resource optimization.

Beyond pharmaceuticals and agriculture, the foundation model's capabilities have the potential to extend to various other industries. The ability to generate and optimize small molecules with specific properties opens a world of possibilities for creating innovative and sustainable solutions across diverse sectors.

Ofer Haviv, Evogene's President and CEO stated: "This strategic collaboration underscores Evogene's commitment to innovation and its position at the forefront of computational predictive biology, utilizing our AI tech-engines. We are proud to be collaborating with Google Cloud, a recognized leader in cloud computing, accelerating our growth trajectory and delivering significant value to our shareholders and partners."

Boaz Maoz, Managing Director, Google Cloud Israel stated: "Google Cloud is committed to providing the industry's most open cloud and helping customers accelerate their digital transformations. By harnessing the power of Google Cloud, Evogene's ChemPass AI has the potential to revolutionize small molecule design. We look forward to the breakthroughs Evogene will achieve."

The collaboration also presents an attractive opportunity for potential pharma and ag-industry partners seeking to leverage the power of ChemPass AI's generative small molecule discovery capabilities. Evogene's proven track record in computational biology, combined with Google Cloud's AI expertise, creates a compelling proposition for companies looking to accelerate their R&D efforts and gain a competitive edge.

About Evogene Ltd.

Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology company leveraging big data and artificial intelligence, aiming to revolutionize the development of life-science based products by utilizing cutting-edge technologies to increase the probability of success while reducing development time and cost.

Evogene established three unique tech-engines - MicroBoost AI, ChemPass AI and GeneRator AI.  Each tech-engine is focused on the discovery and development of products based on one of the following core components: microbes (MicroBoost AI), small molecules (ChemPass AI), and genetic elements (GeneRator AI).

Evogene uses its tech-engines to develop products through strategic partnerships and collaborations, and its four subsidiaries including:

1. Biomica Ltd. (www.biomicamed.com) developing and advancing novel microbiome-based therapeutics to treat human disorders powered by MicroBoost AI;
2. Lavie Bio Ltd. (www.lavie-bio.com) - developing and commercially advancing, microbiome based ag-biologicals powered by MicroBoost AI;
3. AgPlenus Ltd. (www.agplenus.com) -developing next generation ag chemicals for effective and sustainable crop protection powered by ChemPass AI; and
4. Casterra Ag Ltd. (www.casterra.co)– developing and marketing superior castor seed varieties producing high yield and high-grade oil content, on an industrial scale for the biofuel and other industries powered by GeneRator AI.

For more information, please visit: www.evogene.com.  

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" relating to future events. These statements may be identified by words such as "may", "could", "expects", "hopes" "intends", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "scheduled", "estimates", "demonstrates" or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene and its subsidiaries are using forward-looking statement in this press release when it discusses the potential of the collaboration to drive forward the discovery and development of novel small molecules for drug development, sustainable crop protection, and other innovative products across various life-science industries, the foundation model's ability to  generate and evaluate new potential candidates for breakthrough life science based products, with unprecedented speed and accuracy, the ability to create a state-of-the-art foundation model capable of generating and optimizing novel small molecule structures with desired properties, the technology's potential to significantly expedite the drug discovery process, reduce costs, and increase the success rate of identifying promising drug candidates, its ability to enable the development of innovative and sustainable solutions to address global challenges such as food security, crop protection, and resource optimization. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about future events, involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance or achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evogene and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, the current war between Israel and Hamas and any worsening of the situation in Israel such as further mobilizations or escalation in the northern border of Israel and those risk factors contained in Evogene's reports filed with the applicable securities authority. In addition, Evogene and its subsidiaries rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain activities, such as their field-trials and pre-clinical studies, and if these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet expected deadlines, Evogene and its subsidiaries may experience significant delays in the conduct of their activities. Evogene and its subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions.

Contact:
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Tel: +972-8-9311901

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SOURCE Evogene