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InstaDeep to develop AI solutions as part of BioNTech
BioNTech, a German biotech company, announced the purchase of InstaDeep, a startup engaged in developments in the field of artificial intelligence. The amount of the deal will be 362 million euros, under which the vaccine manufacturer will increase the number of shares of the British business it owns to a controlling stake.
BioNTech is interested in the InstaDeep product; the corporation intends to use AI-based technology to develop drugs. First and foremost, it is about accelerating the production of drugs for immunotherapy. In addition, the representatives of BioNTech believe that InstaDeep development will help create a new generation of effective vaccines.
It should be noted that the German manufacturer has been cooperating with the British startup for quite a long time. In January 2022, they jointly released systems for early warning of coronavirus infections. The AI-based service analyzes the results of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing and, based on that, provides a forecast of the risk of disease.
This technique uses a virus protein modeling mechanism and artificial intelligence algorithms. As a result, the system reacts quickly to the possibility of detecting a coronavirus. In this case, the service evaluates the malicious protein for its ability to adapt to the conditions of the body, as well as its ability to be invisible to the human immune system.
During testing, the system identified about 90% of the potentially dangerous varieties of coronavirus. And the AI managed to identify them faster than the WHO did. The strains in question are “Gamma”, “Eta”, “Betta” and others. They were detected just days after scientists entered the symptoms of these types of coronavirus into the database. “Omicron” was identified by the system the same day, giving it “High Risk” status.
According to InstaDeep and BioNTech, their product analyzes the genome in just a few minutes. In doing so, the system plots the entire protein chain in real time. In addition, the algorithm easily adjusts to the appearance of new mutations, scaling its functionality as new data are added to the system.
The service regularly identifies about 10,000 new protein combinations, and it only takes a week for the program to do so.
The British startup InstaDeep was founded in 2014, and since then it has taken the lead in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The company develops AI solutions for various market sectors. InstaDeep provides services to the AI Builders division of Intel Corporation and is also part of the NVIDIA partner network. InstaDeep has been working with BioNTech since 2020, developing in the field of healthcare and vaccine production. The startup is headquartered in London and has offices in Dubai, Paris, and other cities.