AI-grown remedy for bowel ailment gears up for human testing.

Insilico Medicine, an AI-driven biotech company, has announced that its AI-designed drug for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has entered Phase I clinical trials. The drug, called ISM5411, would be the first medication to treat IBD by blocking prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD), a protein that regulates the body’s gut barrier protection genes. IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, causes debilitating symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fatigue. Current treatments for IBD are anti-inflammatory and rely on immunosuppression. Insilico Medicine used its generative AI chemistry engine to design a molecule to block PHD and protect the gut barrier. ISM5411 is an oral medication that specifically targets the gut without affecting other parts of the body. The drug has entered trials in healthy volunteers in Australia to evaluate its safety and tolerability.