Sravathi AI, Mayo Clinic Partner to Develop AI-Enabled Drug Candidate for Cancer Target

The partnership brings together Sravathi AI’s computational AI drug-discovery capabilities and Mayo Clinic’s cancer research expertise to identify the GIPC1 target for cancer drug development

Bengaluru-based startup Sravathi AI Technology and Mayo Clinic researchers have collaborated on an AI-assisted drug discovery programme to develop a drug candidate for cancer.

The collaboration aims to identify and develop an experimental small-molecule inhibitor against GIPC1, a protein involved in cancer growth and treatment resistance.

The partnership brings together Sravathi AI’s computational drug-discovery capabilities and Mayo Clinic’s cancer research expertise to identify the GIPC1 target that has been difficult to address using conventional approaches.

By combining generative AI models and quantum chemistry, the platform screened 40,000 compounds to create a GIPC1 Target candidate.

According to the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports, the preclinical tests on the candidates demonstrated slowed tumor growth, improved survival, and boosted gemcitabine chemotherapy.

Additionally, the experimental candidate showed preliminary evidence of changes in the tumour microenvironment, indicating that it may warrant further investigation as part of potential combination treatment strategies.

“These findings show how AI-assisted discovery can help identify treatment options against targets that have historically been considered undruggable. While still early-stage, this work lays a foundation for future translational research,” said Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, the senior author of the study at Mayo Clinic.

The researchers stated that further safety and preclinical testing will be required before the candidate can be considered for human clinical trials.

Founded in 2020 by Dr. Kishan Gurram, Sravathi AI is an artificial intelligence startup focused on accelerating drug discovery and chemical manufacturing using proprietary AI platforms and continuous flow chemistry.

Commenting on the latest development, Parag Tipnis, CEO of Sravathi AI, said, “The Mayo Clinic study provides compelling validation of how AI can fundamentally accelerate the drug-discovery process, compressing timelines that have traditionally taken years.”

In an earlier development, Mayo Clinic developed an artificial intelligence system that demonstrated the ability to identify early pancreatic cancer-related changes from standard CT scans, potentially detecting signs months or years before a diagnosis.

The AI model, known as REDMOD, detected 73% of cancers in these prediagnostic scans, on average 16 months before clinical diagnosis, nearly doubling the detection rate compared to specialists without AI support.

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