Sanofi to use AI to accelerate recruitment in Phase III MS program
Sanofi will use a new artificial intelligence (AI) system to accelerate recruitment in Phase III trials of candidate multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies.
The French drug maker confirmed it would use the technology – called Muse – to accelerate MS studies but declined to name the drug candidates involved when contacted by Clinical Insider.
“Muse is designed for use across a wide range of therapeutic areas and could be applied to most clinical trial use cases. Both Sanofi and Formation Bio plan to implement Muse in upcoming clinical trials,” a spokesperson told Clinical Insider.
According to Sanofi’s website, the company has two candidate MS treatments in Phase III development.
Sanofi teamed up with Muse co-developers Formation Bio and OpenAI in May with the aim of using data, software, and models to develop custom, purpose-built AI solutions.
Muse, the first of these solutions, is designed to accelerate clinical trial recruitment by analyzing disease, patient demographics, and the competitive landscape. Based on this analysis, the system identifies optimal patient profiles and recruitment strategies.
It then generates recruitment materials and pre-screening questionnaires, tailored to specific patient subgroups and adaptable for various channels, languages, and styles.
This approach could have a significant impact on clinical development timelines, according to Formation Bio CEO Ben Liu.
“At scale, this AI-driven development approach can accelerate the delivery of new medicines and reshape healthcare worldwide. Muse is just the start—one of the many AI innovations we’re building for drug development.”
Relationship
Formation Bio, which changed its name from Trialspark in December 2023 after switching from being a services provider to a drug developer, also plans to implement Muse in upcoming clinical trials.
The firm first partnered with Sanofi in 2021 in an accord focused on speeding up the latter’s COPD-focused clinical trials.
More recently, Sanofi took part in a Series D financing round in which Formation Bio raised £372 million. At the time, Formation Bio said it would use the funds to acquire and in-license candidate drugs and expand its AI capabilities.
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