Harbour BioMed and Insilico Medicine Partner for AI-Driven Antibody Discovery

Cambridge, MA, Rotterdam, NL, and Shanghai, CN — February 20, 2025 — Harbour BioMed, a global biopharmaceutical company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX: 02142), has announced a strategic partnership with Insilico Medicine, a company focused on AI-driven biotechnology at the clinical stage. This collaboration aims to enhance the discovery and development of novel therapeutic antibodies by combining Harbour BioMed’s expertise in antibody technology with Insilico’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence platforms.

The collaboration will integrate Harbour BioMed’s advanced antibody development platform and comprehensive proprietary datasets with Insilico’s AI capabilities that specialize in designing integrated drug discovery tools. This joint venture is set to create next-generation AI-powered applications for antibody development. The partnership will also focus on early-stage drug discovery programs that target specific, novel antibodies. By leveraging Insilico's AI proficiency and Harbour BioMed’s experimental laboratory capabilities, the collaboration aims to address unmet medical needs in fields like immunology, oncology, and neuroscience.

Harbour BioMed’s strength lies in its extensive experience and technology in antibody discovery and development. The company’s proprietary Harbour Mice® platform allows for the creation of fully human monoclonal antibodies in both H2L2 and heavy chain-only (HCAb) formats. This approach eliminates the need for additional engineering or humanization processes. The HCAb technology, in particular, produces fully human heavy chain-only antibodies that are smaller than conventional IgGs, offering distinct advantages for next-generation therapies. Harbour BioMed’s platform is clinically validated and recognized globally, having been applied in over 250 drug discovery programs, thereby establishing the company as a leader in biotherapeutics.

Insilico Medicine has demonstrated its AI platform's efficacy in reducing costs and improving efficiency in the early stages of small molecule drug discovery. Since 2021, it has developed a pipeline of 30 assets powered by its Pharma.AI platform, 10 of which have received Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance. In July 2024, Insilico launched Generative Biologics, an AI-powered tool designed to expedite the development of next-generation biologics. The company plans to leverage real-world case studies to refine and advance its applications through continuous improvements.

Jingsong Wang, MD, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, highlighting the integration of AI technologies with their established antibody discovery platform. This integration aims to streamline antibody discovery, improve candidate selection, and ultimately bring innovative therapies to patients more efficiently.

Feng Ren, PhD, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine, emphasized the transformative role of AI in antibody discovery and engineering. The collaboration with Harbour BioMed aims to harness high-quality datasets and wet-lab validation to build advanced AI-driven antibody platforms. The ultimate goal is to develop groundbreaking antibody therapies to address critical healthcare challenges.

This partnership exemplifies the merging of advanced technological platforms to accelerate the development of innovative therapeutic solutions, potentially transforming the landscape of antibody development and offering new hope for patients with severe medical conditions.