Clinical-stage biotechnology company Oragenics has announced a strategic collaboration with the US-based tech bio firm Receptor.AI to expedite the development of a new pharmaceutical candidate portfolio for brain health conditions.

The partnership will leverage AI modelling techniques to determine the ideal receptor binding profiles for new compounds that Oragenics added to its portfolio in 2023.

This approach is expected to streamline targeted lab validation as Oragenics seeks to broaden its scope beyond its primary candidate, ONP-002, which is currently undergoing clinical studies for concussion.

The company is progressing with Phase IIa trials of ONP-002 in Australia and has plans to commence Phase IIb trials in the US.

Receptor.AI's role will involve deploying its computational models to dissect the molecular structures of the compounds, aiming to identify the receptors that could potentially bind with therapeutic outcomes. 

The insights gained from AI analysis are expected to guide Oragenics in its laboratory testing procedures. This is expected to support the discovery of potential treatments for a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's, anxiety disorders, opioid addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.

If the AI predictions are corroborated by laboratory tests, Oragenics expects to gather preliminary scientific evidence for further development of additional pipeline candidates from initial research stages to clinical application.

Oragenics CEO Janet Huffman stated: "This partnership with Receptor.AI demonstrates our commitment to innovation at every level — from our proprietary intranasal delivery platform to the tools we use to identify promising therapeutic candidates.

“By leveraging AI to guide our preclinical work, we believe we can focus resources on the most promising opportunities and potentially accelerate our path to identifying new treatments for a wide range of neuropsychiatric conditions."