Owkin, a leader in AI-driven biotech research, has dosed the first patient in its Phase 1 clinical trial of OKN4395, the first compound in the clinic to selectively inhibit EP2, EP4, and DP1 receptors. This novel mechanism offers the potential to restore immune function, providing transformative treatment options for patients with advanced solid tumors. This milestone marks a critical step in Owkin’s mission to accelerate oncology drug discovery using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“OKN4395 reflects not only a decade of discovery efforts by Idorsia and its collaborators but also exemplifies the transformative power of Owkin’s K1.0 Operating System,” said Thomas Clozel, MD, Co-Founder and CEO of Owkin. “This milestone underscores our ability to rapidly translate a promising asset into an AI-optimized clinical program.”
The announcement follows closely on the heels of another major development: the launch of Owkin K1.0 Turbigo, the company’s cutting-edge self-supervised AI model, two weeks ago at JP Morgan Healthcare Conference . Turbigo is designed to analyze multimodal biomedical data, integrating pathology, genomics, radiology, and clinical records to drive precision medicine. The model has already demonstrated significant advancements in feature extraction and data interpretation, paving the way for more efficient drug development processes. “We aim for Owkin K to become the reference operating system for biology and for every pharma, biotech, and academic researcher to use our OS to transform their research. In this way, we want to be instrumental in helping break silos and the data wall that has up to now limited biomedical research.”, Clozel added.
Owkin Chief Research & Technology Officer,Jean-Philippe Vert, said: “Today, the overall likelihood of a new drug successfully reaching the market is just 6.7%. Owkin’s mission is to dramatically increase the probability of success in bringing promising medicines to market more efficiently, based on a novel understanding of disease biology”
In addition to its AI-driven drug development initiatives, Owkin also founded MOSAIC, the world’s largest spatial multi-omics atlas for cancer research across nine cancer indications. This pioneering platform integrates spatial transcriptomics and AI to provide unprecedented insights into tumor microenvironments, supporting the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers.
Owkin’s dual progress—advancing its first AI-discovered drug into clinical trials and unveiling a transformative AI model—reinforces the company’s commitment to revolutionizing drug development. As AI-driven approaches gain traction, Owkin continues to establish itself as a frontrunner in the convergence of machine learning and precision medicine.
The company also claims that within the next year it will develop K2.0 agents that will serve as co-pilots for scientists. “In the future, these agents could even replace human scientists and run their own research programs and laboratory experiments and manage the life cycle of drugs” the company says.
French biotech Owkin has raised over $300 million through investments from leading biopharma companies, including Sanofi and BMS, and venture funds like F-Prime, GV and Bpifrance, among others.
