NEC sets up new firm of drugs discovery using AI technology

NEC Corporation has established a new company that promotes the development and application of therapeutic cancer peptide vaccines using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. The new company, CYTLIMIC Inc. (CYTLIMIC), will use NEC the WISE AI technologies combined with machine learning and experimentation to produce a unique "immune function prediction technology" that is able to efficiently discover peptides that are potential vaccines in a short period of time and at a low cost. NEC has been engaged in collaborative research since 2014 with Yamaguchi University and Kochi University, and in clinical research with Yamaguchi University, resulting in the discovery of a peptide vaccine that promises to be effective in the treatment of hepatoma and esophageal cancer and is compatible with the genetic profile of approximately 85 percent of Japan's population. Currently, it is also advancing its application as a new cancer drug through CYTLIMIC, by developing investigational use formulations of the discovered peptide vaccine, confirming its safety and efficacy through nonclinical and clinical tests, and investigating its commercialization with pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, advances in life science have been accompanied by advances in elucidating the human immunity mechanism, and new cancer therapies that utilize immunity are being administered.