Cambridge to open £20m AI-enabled drug discovery centre
The MRC-funded hub at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute will combine organoids, stem-cell systems and AI to improve translation of lab findings into therapies.
A new research centre worth £20 million (over €23 million) will open at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute to develop drug discovery platforms that combine artificial intelligence with advanced human tissue models, the Medical Research Council (MRC) has funded the project.
The facility will be located within the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will bring together laboratory teams, clinical researchers and industrial partners. Scientists there plan to use human tissue- and disease-based models to increase the likelihood that laboratory findings translate into effective therapies.
Researchers will use organoids—miniature, lab-grown structures that mimic some functions of human organs—alongside stem cell systems, bioengineering tools, clinical research and AI-driven analysis to screen and prioritise potential drug candidates.
Bridging lab models and patient care
University hospitals in Cambridge say the centre aims to provide more precise ways to study disease mechanisms, predict disease progression and test potential treatments before they reach clinical trials in patients. The project also intends to reduce reliance on animal experiments.
"By capturing key features of individual patients, these human models allow us to study diseases more precisely and to test potential therapies before they reach clinical application," said Professor Matthias Zilbauer, one of the centre's leads.
The centre will be co-led by Professor Matthias Zilbauer and Professor Bertie Göttgens, director of the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Their goal is to accelerate development of research tools that more accurately reflect human biology and help move promising candidates toward clinical testing.
Researchers at Cambridge have already used artificial intelligence in vaccine research, creating a design intended to protect against a broad range of coronaviruses — including variants of COVID-19 and animal coronaviruses that could spark future global outbreaks. The new centre aims to apply similar computational and experimental approaches to speed drug discovery.
Photo: press material from the event
