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Qubit Pharmaceuticals, a deeptech company specialised in the discovery of new drug candidates through simulation and molecular modelling accelerated by hybrid HPC and quantum computing, announces an investment of €4.5 million for the creation of a new drug discovery platform targeting RNA as a therapeutic target. The initiative is supported by Bpifrance with a total investment of €2 million via the Investissements d'Avenir and France 2030 programs. The aim of this research is to open up new possibilities in the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including cancer, inflammatory diseases, rare conditions and infections.
Robert Marino, CEO of Qubit Pharmaceuticals, comments: "I would like to thank Bpifrance, the Programme d'Investissement d'Avenir and France 2030 for once again showing their confidence in us. Qubit Pharma is ideally positioned to make progress in understanding and treating RNA-protein interactions, and this grant, by supporting the creation of a new platform, will enable us to expand research and accelerate the development of innovative treatments. We are determined to demonstrate that it is possible to target RNA and RNA-protein interactions as we move from target identification to lead identification."
RNA-protein interaction is crucial to the functioning of the organism
In a living organism, the binding or interaction between proteins and RNA molecules is essential to the functioning of each cell and the organism as a whole. These RNA-protein interactions regulate the expression of our genes, and can be the cause of serious pathologies such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancers.
Yet these interactions are complex and difficult to explore using conventional methods. Qubit Pharmaceuticals' simulation technology promises to shine a brighter light on them. Focusing on RNA as a therapeutic target therefore opens up a whole new field of possibilities for more effective treatments, particularly for cancers that are resistant to existing treatments.
A virtually untapped research avenue
RNA-protein interactions (RPI) offer great potential as targets for the development of new therapeutic molecules. Targeting these interactions with small molecule inhibitors remains an emerging field.
This project will focus on inhibiting or reducing translational activity in cancer cells by targeting RNA-protein interactions. This approach will use two different strategies:
(a) RNA targeting.
(b) targeting proteins at the RNA-binding interface.
While protein-protein interactions have served as the basis for the development of new drugs, RNA-protein interactions, equally crucial in human pathologies, remain largely unexploited.
These interactions, when dysregulated, can lead to a range of human diseases. Targeting these interactions, closely implicated in pathological mechanisms, represents a promising strategy for discovering new categories of drug candidates.
Qubit Pharmaceuticals can count on its core competencies to meet this challenge. The project's scientific manager at the company, Krystel El Hage, is an expert in targeting RNA-protein interactions using computational approaches as well as spectroscopic and cellular techniques, particularly those involved in certain cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. A former leader of the European MITiC project (Molecules Inhibiting Translation in Cancer cells - European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Skodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 895024), she is also known for her scientific publications on this subject in leading international journals. Today, she is pursuing this research activity within Qubit Pharmaceuticals through work aimed at revealing at atomic level the mechanisms of action involved, in order to design innovative inhibitor molecules.
New project for Qubit Pharmaceuticals' Atlas platform
Qubit Pharmaceuticals will run this project on its Atlas platform, which integrates advanced supercomputer simulation techniques with optimised small molecule identification strategies. This platform enables a precise description of the biophysical properties governing interactions between a target and a potential drug candidate.
Atlas is able to harness the computing power of supercomputers and quantum computers to accelerate the development of safer, more effective drug candidates, cutting the time needed to screen, select and optimise a candidate of interest by a factor of 2, and the investment required by a factor of more than 10. Qubit is thus able to model and simulate the interactions between molecules and macromolecules with the utmost precision. By creating true digital twins of physical molecules, the Atlas platform performs in just a few hours calculations that would take several years by conventional means - an acceleration of a factor of 100,000.