Orion and Aitia enter AI-Driven Drug Discovery and Drug Simulation Collaboration in Oncology

Orion Corporation and Aitia, an AI-enabled biotechnology company and the leader in the development and application of Causal AI and "Digital Twins" to discover and develop new drugs, announced today that the companies have entered into agreement to create new Gemini Digital Twins to help in the fight against cancer.

Cancer is a critical global health issue, affecting millions of people worldwide and imposing a significant burden on healthcare systems. In 2022 alone, nearly 20 million new cancer cases were diagnosed, with 10 million lives lost to the disease¹. The global cancer burden is projected to rise significantly, with new cases expected to reach 35 million annually by 2050 if current trends continue, driven by population aging and growth. This growing challenge underscores the urgent need for innovative treatments. The collaboration between Orion and Aitia to discover and develop new cancer drugs aims to address this need.

Under the terms of the agreement, Orion and Aitia will work together to focus on translational questions to discover and validate novel drug targets, and to develop drug candidates across multiple oncologic indications through the utilisation of Aitia's Digital Twins combined with Orion's pre-clinical and clinical data and expertise. Orion will receive an exclusive option to research, develop, and commercialise products directed against specific novel drug targets identified by Aitia.

In addition, Aitia is eligible to receive certain upfront payments, and development and regulatory milestone payments totalling to more than USD 10 million per drug target, as well as tiered single-digit royalties on sales of products covered by the agreement.

“We are excited to collaborate with Aitia to harness the power of their Gemini Digital Twins and Causal AI technology in the discovery and development of new cancer treatments. Working with them gives us an opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible. By leveraging their cutting-edge technology, we aim to unlock deeper insights into the complex biology of cancer, ultimately accelerating the development of novel therapies that could significantly improve patient outcomes,” said Outi Vaarala, Senior Vice President, Innovative Medicines and Research & Development at Orion.

“Our collaboration with Orion is particularly exciting as it brings together our Gemini Digital Twins which leverage large quantities of multi-omic patient data and causal AI and simulation with Orion’s deep expertise in oncology drug discovery and development. By creating highly accurate and predictive models of disease, we can uncover previously hidden mechanisms and pathways, accelerating the discovery of new, more effective medicines. This partnership represents a major step forward in our shared mission to bring innovative treatments to patients suffering from cancer,” said Colin Hill, CEO and co-founder of Aitia. “We are excited about what the future holds as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in cancer research and treatment. This collaboration is another step forward, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to discovering and developing breakthrough therapies that can offer new hope to patients and their families.”

About Aitia

Aitia is an AI-enabled biotechnology company deploying causal AI and creating Gemini Digital Twins to discover the next generation of breakthrough drugs in neurodegenerative diseases and oncology, including a lead program in Huntington’s disease. By leveraging the convergence of multi-omic patient data, high-performance computing, and causal AI, Aitia’s Gemini Digital Twins reveal the hidden biological mechanisms of disease to transform the discovery and development of new therapeutics. To date, Gemini Digital Twins have been used to accelerate R&D in oncology, neurodegeneration, cardiometabolic, and immunology.

About Orion

Orion is a globally operating Finnish pharmaceutical company – a builder of well-being for over a hundred years. We develop, manufacture and market human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Orion has an extensive portfolio of proprietary and generic medicines and consumer health products. The core therapy areas of our pharmaceutical R&D are oncology and pain. Proprietary products developed by Orion are used to treat cancer, neurological diseases and respiratory diseases, among others. Orion's net sales in 2023 amounted to EUR 1,190 million and the company had about 3,600 employees at the end of the year. Orion's A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.