CASE

STUDIES

COVID Moonshot: PostEra’s machine learning platform in real world drug discovery

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In March 2020 PostEra helped launch COVID Moonshot, which became the world’s largest open-science initiative to develop a COVID antiviral cure.

With low and middle income economies limited in access to vaccines, Moonshot set out to develop patent-free compounds that would be readily accessible for all patients around the world.
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PostEra’s machine learning drove the prioritization of crowdsourced ideas

Moonshot crowdsourced antiviral ideas, inspired by a fragment screen, from over 400 scientists around the world. PostEra’s machine learning drove the prioritization of these ideas and designed the synthesis of all 2000 compounds made as part of COVID Moonshot as well as using our ML technology to develop new chemotypes.

In 18 months, the project progressed from a fragment screen to the nomination of Development Candidates ready for IND-enabling studies.
PropertyTarget RangeCold Start Mar 2020 --> Dec 2021
Protease Assay

IC50 < 50 nM

40nM

Viral Replication

EC50 < 0.2µM

0.15 μM in A549 CPE

PK-PD

Cmin > EC90 (plaque reduction) for 24h

Current projected human dose ~220mg QD ; 100mg BID

Coronavirus spectrum

SARS-CoV2 B1.1.7 , 501.V2, B.1.1.248 variants essential

SARS-CoV-1 & MERS desirable

Active against B1.1.7 , 501.V2 in cellular assays

Route of administration

oral

BO = 45% in rat

Solubility

> 5 mg/mL, >100µM tolerable

750 µM

Half-Life

Ideally >= 8 h (human) est from rat and dog

Rat 2h, human predicted PK sufficient

Safety

No significant protease activity >50% at 10μM (Nanosyn 61 protease panel)

Only reversible and monitorable toxicities (NOAEL > 30x Cmax)

No significant DDI – clean in 5 CYP450 isoforms

Critical transporter check (e.g. OATP)

hERG and NaV1.5 IC50 > 50 µM

No significant change in QTc

No mutagenicity or teratogenicity risk

Protease panel clean on analogues

Eurofins / CEREP 44 target panel clean

Cyp450: clean except 2A4 (3uM)

No hERG activity

Live phase planned

Lead compounds are clean in AMES +/- S9

What's Next?

$11M

Moonshot attracted an $11M grant to move our patent-free compounds through IND-enabling studies and into clinical trials.

$68M

PostEra and members of the Moonshot consortium successfully secured a $68M grant from the NIH to develop antivirals against other viruses of pandemic concern.

PostEra is building a modern 21st century biopharma. We're using our advances in machine learning to close the Design-Make-Test cycle of medicinal chemistry and bring more cures to patients.

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PostEra is building a modern 21st century biopharma. We're using our advances in machine learning to close the Design-Make-Test cycle of medicinal chemistry and bring more cures to patients.

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