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(Photo courtesy of Syntekabio)

[Song Young-doo, Edaily Reporter] Syntekabio a South Korea based AI driven drug discovery company, announced on Friday that it has entered into a co-development agreement with Proteco, LLC., a U.S. based biotechnology firm, to develop a broad spectrum COVID-19 treatment.

Under the agreement, Syntekabio will use its proprietary AI drug development platform, DeepMatcher, to optimize Proteco’s initial lead compounds. Proteco will be responsible for experimental validation, and any future revenues and royalties from the joint development will be shared according to the terms of the agreement.

Proteco operates a structural biology focused research lab capable of testing high pathogenic viruses such as SARS and MERS. The collaboration allows for real time validation of AI predicted candidates.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has officially ended, SARS-CoV-2 remains a seasonal infectious threat with new subvariants, like Omicron, continuing to erode the effectiveness of existing treatments particularly for high risk populations.

A recently identified strain, HKU5-CoV-2, discovered in China, is classified under the Merbecovirus group, which includes the virus responsible for MERS. Known for its high infectivity and similarity to deadly strains, the emergence of such variants underscores the urgent need for broad spectrum antivirals.

Syntekabio has been actively involved in COVID-19 R&D since securing a drug repurposing based treatment patent in 2020. The company has also collaborated with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) and is reportedly pursuing additional infectious disease drug development projects with new partners.

The company’s AI platform DeepMatcher is designed not only for small molecule discovery but also for next generation modalities such as targeted protein degraders (TPD) and antibody-drug conjugates(ADC).

“We’re highly optimistic about developing a universal COVID-19 treatment using Syntekabio’s AI platform,” said Michael E. Johnson, CEO of Proteco. “With speed and precision on our side, I believe we can deliver successful outcomes.”