Sanofi has found a new preclinical research partner in Canadian software company BenchSci, which will provide the French drugmaker an AI copilot as part of a three-year partnership, BenchSci announced in an Oct. 8 release.
Sanofi will use BenchSci’s platform, called ASCEND, across its global preclinical research organization, according to the release. ASCEND combines public scientific information with proprietary internal data to produce knowledge graphs that scientists can use to better understand disease biology.
Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed.
The new deal is part of a broader strategy by Sanofi to adopt AI across its organization, according to the release, including at every stage of R&D.
This AI vision also extends to the pharma's investment arm, Sanofi Ventures, which recently announced an investment into AI-powered clinical trial simulation company QuantHealth. That investment came after Sanofi announced it was pumping $625 million more into its venture operation.
As for BenchSci, the Toronto-based company was founded in 2015 and raised $8 million in series A three years later. Subsequent fundraising saw that dollar amount increase dramatically, with a 2023 series D bringing in $95 million on the back of the current AI boom.
At the end of last month, BenchSci secured another big partnership with Thermo Fisher to develop new software to help scientists interpret datasets, search literature and select appropriate reagents in the lab.
The ascendant AI outfit welcomed Pfizer R&D vet Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors in July.