IBM and Boehringer Ingelheim are collaborating to advance the development of therapeutic antibodies using generative AI and foundational models, with the aim of improving patient outcomes. Last week, at IBM Research - Switzerland, IBM and Boehringer Ingelheim announced a groundbreaking agreement that allows Boehringer Ingelheim to utilize IBM's AI technology. The goal is for these foundational models to enable the discovery of new candidate antibodies and develop efficient treatment methods. By training on billions of proteins, both companies hope that AI can accelerate the process of medical discovery by generating hypotheses faster and more effectively. IBM's model is trained in a self-supervised environment, with the intention of speeding up antibody discovery and helping healthcare professionals reduce the time from three years to one year. Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company, aims to create value through innovation, particularly in areas where medical needs are unmet. It is committed to achieving breakthrough therapies that can change people's lives. The organization will use AI models developed by IBM and continue to fine-tune them with additional data. Using foundational models in this way for antibody discovery is a groundbreaking solution that not only improves treatment outcomes for patients worldwide but also accelerates the work of scientists. Therapeutic antibodies are crucial in the treatment of many diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. Despite significant advancements in artificial intelligence and technology, the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies remain highly complex and time-consuming processes. Typically, it takes an average of three years for such antibody discovery, which then needs to be repeated. AI has the ability to expedite this type of discovery by generating hypotheses faster and more effectively, reducing the time to one year. "IBM has always been at the forefront of creating generative AI models that extend AI's impact beyond the realm of language," said Alessandro Curioni, Vice President of Accelerated Discovery at IBM Research. "We are excited to bring IBM's multimodal foundational model technology to Boehringer Ingelheim, a company at the forefront of developing and producing antibody therapies, to help accelerate their creation of new therapies." Molecular dynamics + AI = simulated data Boehringer Ingelheim and IBM researchers aim to accelerate the discovery process through computer simulation methods. The sequence, structure, and molecular characteristics information of disease-related targets, as well as the success criteria of antibody molecules related to treatment, will form the basis for computer simulation to generate new human antibody sequences. This process can create unique datasets to train foundational models. IBM's foundational model technology has already achieved success in generating biologics and small molecules with affinity to relevant targets and has been used to design antibody targets. These are then enhanced through simulation screening, selecting and optimizing the best binders as targets. Looking ahead, results from laboratory experiments will be used to improve computer simulation methods through feedback loops. This collaboration ultimately helps Boehringer Ingelheim establish a leading digital ecosystem and significantly accelerates the drug discovery and development process, while creating new opportunities to change patients' lives. It also demonstrates IBM's efforts to leverage generative AI and foundational models to accelerate discoveries in the healthcare field. IBM researchers announced earlier at a media event in Zurich that model fine-tuning should be faster, with the first set of models expected to be tested within a few months. "We are thrilled to collaborate with IBM's research team, who share our vision of making computer-simulated biopharmaceutical drug discovery a reality," said Andrew Nixon, Global Head of Biopharmaceutical Discovery at Boehringer Ingelheim. "I believe that through our joint efforts with IBM scientists, we will develop an unprecedented platform for accelerating antibody discovery, which will enable Boehringer Ingelheim to develop and provide new treatment options for patients with high unmet needs."