Enveda secures $130m for AI-driven plant drug development

Enveda Biosciences, a biotechnology company leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), successfully secured $130 million in a Series C funding round. This funding aims to expedite the company's drug discovery and development initiatives. Enveda is currently focusing on advancing a pipeline consisting of ten drug candidates aimed at treating conditions such as immunology, obesity, fibrosis, chronic pain, and neurological disorders. The company plans to achieve significant clinical milestones by 2025 and 2026.

The funding round was spearheaded by Kinnevik and FPV, with additional contributions from both new and existing investors such as Baillie Gifford, Premji Invest, Lingotto Innovation, Lux Capital, Dimension Capital, True Ventures, Cresset Partners, The Nature Conservancy, and Henry R. Kravis. This recent investment builds on Enveda's previous financial achievements, including $55 million raised in June 2024 with Microsoft's involvement and $51 million obtained in April 2023.

Based in the United States, Enveda utilizes machine learning and mass spectrometry to identify and analyze molecules derived from plants. The company's core platform, PRISM, is designed to analyze thousands of plant molecules simultaneously. This innovative approach eliminates the need for traditional, labor-intensive, and expensive analysis methods like nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thereby potentially speeding up the drug discovery process.

In October 2024, Enveda achieved a significant milestone when its oral anti-inflammatory drug candidate, ENV-294, received investigational new drug (IND) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commence Phase I clinical trials. ENV-294 is intended to treat atopic dermatitis and other inflammatory conditions.

Enveda's research and development efforts extend beyond anti-inflammatory treatments. The company is also working on therapeutic candidates for a variety of conditions, including small molecules for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, fibrosis, and a TGF-beta receptor type 1 inhibitor for dermatological and musculoskeletal disorders.

The integration of AI in drug discovery is becoming increasingly prominent in the pharmaceutical industry, with companies like Insilico Medicine and Exscientia at the forefront. Notably, Insilico has advanced an AI-discovered candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis into Phase II clinical trials.

According to a report from GlobalData's Pharma Intelligence Center, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to significantly increase its spending on AI platforms. The forecast suggests an increase to over $407 million by 2028, up from $46.9 million in 2019. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.1%, highlighting the growing importance and investment in AI-driven drug discovery.