Dompé Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. (hereinafter “Dompé”) and Bio4Dreams S.p.A. (hereinafter “Bio4Dreams”) signed “Exscalate4Startups”, a cooperation agreement aimed at supporting the most promising startups within the Bio4Dreams ecosystem in their drug development phases.

Exscalate, Dompé’s proprietary platform developed in collaboration with CINECA (Consorzio Interuniversitario per il Calcolo Automatico dell’Italia Nord Orientale) and Politecnico di Milano, combines supercomputing and artificial intelligence for new drug development and it is able to evaluate over three million molecules per second, leveraging a chemical library of 2,000 billion molecules. Currently, it is the most powerful intelligent supercomputing platform thanks to the use of Leonardo, the fourth most powerful supercomputer in the world, of which Dompé became the first industrial user in November last year.

Under this agreement, Exscalate will be available to the most promising startups within Bio4Dreams’ pipeline, supporting them in screening and identifying innovative drugs for diseases currently without a cure. Validation of these compounds, once identified through the platform, will be carried out within Bio4Dreams’ SharedLabs™ at MIND – Milan Innovation District, where high-level facilities and expertise will enable accelerated development.

This agreement stands as a reference point for virtual screening to support the development of new innovative therapies and will attract new startups, including international ones, which will have the opportunity to position their therapeutic programs within Bio4Dreams’ SharedLabs™. The entire project will support the growth of an innovative startup ecosystem for the development of future therapies.

“We are extremely proud of this agreement, which will allow our most promising startups to access a unique platform capable of significantly accelerating the development of their therapeutic targets.”

Fabio Bianco, Chief Scientific Officer, Bio4Dreams

“We are extremely proud to contribute to the development of the Life Sciences ecosystem, of which startups are a vital part, by making our platform available in an open innovation perspective.”

Marcello Allegretti, Chief Scientific Officer di Dompé

📄Press release

Dompé Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. is a rapidly scaling international private biopharmaceutical company founded in Milan, Italy, with a 130-year legacy of medical innovation. The company’s research and development department are leveraging Exscalate, an internally developed structure-based virtual screening platform that is currently one of the most powerful supercomputing and artificial intelligence platforms. The platform is at the heart of Dompé’s R&D strategy for both international initiatives and industrial projects. Dompé employs over 800 staff worldwide and maintains a commercial operations hub in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as a research and development presence in Boston.