Chip designer Ceremorphic gearing up for foray into life sciences

Ceremorphic, a U.S. chip-design firm with a tech centre in Hyderabad, is entering the life-sciences industry with an analog computing solution to accelerate drug discovery. It can simulate human cells and responses, potentially reducing cost and time to market. The firm has onboarded 30 people, including 6 biologists, and plans to launch its solution in Boston this December. It intends to raise $50 million in two tranches mid-2024.

U.S supercomputing chip-design firm Ceremorphic, which has a technology development centre in Hyderabad, is foraying into the life-sciences industry, specifically the drug discovery space, with an analog computing solution to accelerate the development cycle.

At the heart of the foray is the In Silico architecture it has developed using proprietary analog circuit technology, supercomputing chips and novel AI algorithms to simulate the human cell and its responses, founder Venkat Mattela said in an interaction here on Thursday.

With over 90% of the drug candidates not going past the clinical phase II and the small number of drugs getting the go ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a new development methodology is required in the early stages of the design pipeline, he said.

The In Silico architecture or the computer simulation of human cell can predict the later stage outcomes to increase the research and development efficiency, he said, asserting the solution could transform future of drug discovery making personalised medicine a reality. Enhanced efficiency in the early stages can go a long way in cutting down the time cycles of drug discovery process.

Consequently, it may help reduce the cost of drug development and time to market, he said. For Ceremorphic, the foray will further enhance its engagement in Hyderabad. The company has already onboarded over 30 people, including six biologists, taking the headcount at its facility here (which can seat about 320) to around 160.

Neurology and oncology therapies will be the focus, Mr. Mattela said, explaining how the company will be working with multiple entities at different stages of the drug development process. For manufacturing, it intends to tie up with a drugmaker in Hyderabad, he said.

Up ahead, the company, which formed a life-sciences division recently, plans to unveil its yet-to-be-named solution in Boston this December, he said. On funding requirements, Mr. Mattela, who had sold his previous entity Redpine Signals Inc. wireless assets to Silicon Labs for $308 million in March 2020, said Ceremorphic intends to raise $50 million in two tranches mid-2024. It had previously raised $37 million in a seed series.