Molecular researchers from the University of Copenhagen have joined forces with an artificial intelligence company specialising in aging mechanisms to fight premature aging. Hopefully, the collaboration will lead to the development of drugs to treat age–related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cardiovascular diseases.

The largest risk factor associated with Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular diseases and Parkinson’s disease is aging. Experts in DNA and aging from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences have joined forces with the American company Insilico Medicine, which specialises in artificial intelligence (AI), to find molecules that can be used in the development of new drugs against aging–associated diseases. The hope is to ensure healthy aging for everyone.

“My group focuses on diseases resulting in accelerated aging. Such diseases are caused by mutations in the genes that repair DNA, thereby providing us with unique molecular knowledge of the aging process. People with unrepairable DNA will age quickly. The collaboration with Insilico Medicine gives us the chance to find molecules with the ability to repair DNA and prevent early aging,” says Morten Scheibye–Knudsen, molecular researcher, medical doctor and assistant professor from Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Insilico Medicine uses algorithms to investigate aging processes and develop drugs against age–related diseases. Treatment of the diseases requires expression of repair genes. By using an artificial intelligence method known as deep learning to sort data sets for gene expression, the company is able to discover which molecules can stimulate DNA repair.

“Deep learning systems are outperforming human abilities in many tasks including image recognition and autonomous driving. But the area, where artificial intelligence (AI) will have the most impact is drug discovery and we are deeply honoured to be able to partner with professor Scheibye–Knudsen’s group at the University of Copenhagen, which is one of the best in the world. I hope that together we will be able to find new molecules to extend healthy longevity and make humans more resistant to the various stress factors”, said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, Inc.

In the Copenhagen laboratories, the molecular researchers can then test whether the selected molecules actually work – and if they do, whether they can form the basis for the development of new drugs.

“We hope that the collaboration can lead to the development of new types of drugs which can prevent premature aging and thus ensure healthy aging for everyone. If we can find some molecules with the ability to repair our DNA, it is not unthinkable that we can continue to increase the limit on human lifespan,” says Morten Scheibye–Knudsen.

The collaboration has already resulted in a research article dealing with the use of artificial intelligence in image analysis.