As of 2023, over 400,000 Australians live with dementia, with over a million people assigned to their care. It is the second leading cause of death in the country overall and the leading cause of death in women. What’s worse, Australia’s growing ageing population makes this statistic all the more worrying. 

In a bid to develop a potential solution, biotech company Algorae Pharmaceuticals (ASX: 1AI) is working on the development of AlgoraeOS, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform created in collaboration with the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The platform aims to advance drug development in various therapeutic areas, including dementia and cardiovascular diseases.

It will generate drug targets for clinical investigation, build an internal pipeline of drug candidates, establish data licensing agreements with third parties, and form partnerships with organisations possessing specialised expertise.

AlgoraeOS builds upon an AI model already trained and developed by data specialists within UNSW’s AI Institute and Data Science Hub (uDASH), utilising Australia’s fastest supercomputers. The initial version of AlgoraeOS is expected to be delivered within six to nine months. Once that’s done, AlgoraeOS will undergo iterative enhancements, incorporating additional data sources, both internally generated and from third parties, to further augment its capabilities.

AlgoraeOS is specialised in cannabinoid and cannabinoid-like pharmaceutical agents. This focus aligns with the growing interest in this field, marked by high-profile merger and acquisition activities, making it a strategic choice for Algorae Pharmaceuticals. Associate Professor Fatemeh Vafee, a scientist in computational biomedicine with experience in AI-integrated translational medicine and drug discovery, is leading the project. 

Besides that, Algorae Pharmaceuticals has filed a provisional patent application for its combination drug candidate, AI-116, which includes cannabidiol (CBD) and another off-patent pharmaceutical ingredient to address dementia. Thanks to the growing ageing population, Algorae is tapping into a booming global dementia drugs market, projected to reach $31.09 billion by 2031.

Pre-clinical studies for AI-116 are underway in collaboration with La Trobe University, led by Principal Investigator Professor Garrie Arumugam. This candidate is set to be compared to existing registered drugs, including those for conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 

In a leadership update, the Company has appointed Bradley Latham as a non-executive director. At the end of Q1 FY24, Algorae Pharmaceuticals reported a cash balance of $4.1 million, with total cash outflows related to operating activities amounting to $493,456. It anticipates receiving a cash R&D tax rebate for expenditures made in the previous financial year in Q2.

Algorae Pharmaceuticals also halted its confidential discussions with Dutch-based pharmaceutical and nutraceutical development company APeT Holding BV (APeT) after not reaching any agreement for potential transactions, including partnerships, collaboration agreements, licensing arrangements or acquisitions.

As the Company transitions to more AI-based medicine development, it has changed its name from Living Cell Technologies to Algorae, inspired by the word “algorithm”. The new name got over 97% shareholder approval, signalling confidence in its new direction.