The 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference took place from July 6th to 8th at the Shanghai World Expo Center and the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. With the theme of "Intelligent Connectivity Generating Future", this conference is co-sponsored by Shanghai Municipal Government, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Cyberspace Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and China Association for Science and Technology. This conference is aimed at giving full play to its important role as “technology leader, application showcase, industry accelerator, and governance council”, bringing together profound wisdom, cutting-edge technologies, industrial trends, and human ecology in the global artificial intelligence field, and promoting the healthy and innovative development of artificial intelligence.
On the morning of July 7th, as a representative of AI pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Chris Lai, the co-founder, and CEO of METiS Pharmaceuticals, participated upon invitation in the Financing and Investment sub-Forum of the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference hosted by CICC and themed “Boundless Future, Booming of AIGC”. At the forum, he discussed the industry development and opportunities with the participants from the perspective of capital boosting the development of AI technology and shared his personal experiences and insights.
The panel discussion was chaired by Zhang Qing, Managing Director of CICC Capital. Dr. Chris Lai, the co-founder and CEO of METiS Pharmaceuticals, John Qu, Global Senior Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, Han Wei, Chairman of AIForceTech, Ren Peng, Vice President at Perfect World and Head of Strategic Investment Department of, Nyx He, Senior Vice President and Partner at BrainCo, Wang Xiao, Partner at Unity Venture, and Zhang Suyang, Partner at Volcanics Venture, conducted a fruitful collision of ideas around the topic of“AI investment in the primary market at the dawn of a new wave”, actively offered advice and suggestions, and contributed their respective experiences and insights.
Dr. Lai introduced the key role of capital in the early development of AI companies, drawing on his experience as the founder of an AI-driven drug delivery and drug R&D company. METiS Pharmaceuticals was founded by a group of MIT scientists and a member of the National Academy of Engineering (USA) in 2020. The founding of the company coincided with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, so all R&D plans were put on hold. As a result, the founding team resolutely moved the core team from the United States to China, as well as their developing work of the platforms. Fortunately, METIS received adequate support from the Hangzhou Municipal Government in terms of start-up funds and laboratory placement, and therefore, quickly settled down in Hangzhou, China. Subsequently, the experimental data was quickly recognized by the capital market. For example, the delivery and transfection efficiency of nanocarriers designed by METiS is more than ten times higher than that of the industry giant Moderna. Meanwhile, METiS has addressed the delivery problems of the lungs, brain, tumors, immune organs, and muscles that are difficult for the industry to overcome. These impressive achievements obtained the support of leading funds, including Sequoia China, 5Y Capital, PICC Capital, and Lightspeed China. Thanks to the support of capital, METiS Pharmaceuticals has grown rapidly in the past three years and is now an innovative biotechnology company that has begun to take shape and focuses on AI-driven drug delivery and drug discovery.
Dr. Lai is also very optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence technology. In recent years, he has witnessed the "third drug revolution" – the gene therapy drugs based on nucleic acid DNA and RNA codes, following the small molecule targeted drugs and antibody drugs. The mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and BioNTech performed outstandingly during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing nucleic acid gene drugs to the masses. The nano-delivery carrier LNP and RNA sequence have proved to be safer than expected, with unexpected drug effects, which has brought a wave of technological and financial benefits to the biopharmaceutical industry. METiS Pharmaceuticals has also joined the wave and quickly deployed the AI-driven nucleic acid delivery system design platform (AiLNP). Thanks to the contributions of the top scientists from MIT, AI technology platforms, and the capital market, METiS has created drug delivery and development capabilities that surpass the industry.
Since the decoding of the human genome in 2000, the academic community has accumulated a large number of breakthroughs in molecular biology and genetic coding. These breakthroughs have led to significant progress in the development of nucleic acid-based gene drugs. The next 3-5 years will be a critical moment for the CGT industry, and the key technology to overcome the challenges is drug delivery. Those who will make huge technological breakthroughs and seize the market opportunities will be those who can make nano-delivery carriers that can accurately target and efficiently deliver nucleic acid drugs to disease tissues, and those who can cooperate deeply with major pharmaceutical multinationals.
In addition, Dr. Lai looks forward to active support from the supervision authorities for the clinical development of such innovative drugs. He believes that with the efforts of pharmaceutical companies and the investment of capital, China will become a leader in the “third drug revolution” and build a gene drug ecosystem that will promote the R&D of more innovative drugs and bring more good drugs to patients.
