INmune Bio and Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) have announced a collaboration to use quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to identify potential new uses for XPro (XPro1595), INmune Bio’s investigational treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.
The partnership aims to analyse clinical, preclinical and publicly available biomedical data to identify diseases that may respond to XPro. The companies will combine INmune Bio’s research and clinical data with QCi’s Dirac-3S quantum optimisation technology to identify biological patterns, assess potential treatment responses and prioritise promising new indications.
XPro is designed to selectively block soluble tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a protein involved in inflammation, while preserving other TNF functions that support the immune system. INmune Bio is investigating the treatment for neurological and rare diseases where inflammation may play an important role.
Through the collaboration, the companies aim to identify patient groups and biomarkers that could help predict responses to XPro. They will also look for diseases that share biological mechanisms with conditions already being studied in the company’s research programmes.
David Moss, chief executive officer of INmune Bio, said the company has developed a substantial body of clinical data through years of research into XPro, including work in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions. He explained that combining these datasets with advanced computing methods could help identify diseases with the strongest potential for successful treatment development.
The companies plan to initially focus on rare diseases, where clinical trials may sometimes be smaller and faster to conduct than trials for more common conditions. Some qualifying rare paediatric disease programmes may also offer the potential to earn a Priority Review Voucher, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.
QCi will use its Dirac-3S entropy quantum optimisation machine alongside AI and conventional analytical methods to examine the available data. The companies will compare the results from these different approaches to determine where quantum optimisation offers useful advantages over established statistical and machine-learning techniques.
Yuping Huang, chairman and chief executive officer of QCi, said the project demonstrates how quantum computing could be applied to practical challenges in pharmaceutical research. He added that the collaboration would allow the company to test its technology against complex scientific questions using real-world clinical and biological data.
The initial phase represents QCi’s first commercial customer engagement in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. The agreement also includes options for additional work as INmune Bio advances its clinical development programmes.
For INmune Bio, the partnership could help identify new development opportunities for XPro and guide decisions about which diseases to investigate further. For QCi, it offers an opportunity to demonstrate the potential application of its room-temperature, low-power quantum computing technology in drug discovery.
The collaboration will initially focus on data analysis and identifying potential treatment opportunities. Any newly identified uses for XPro would require further research and appropriate clinical and regulatory evaluation before the treatment could be approved for those conditions.