Quris, an artificial intelligence (AI) innovator in the pharmaceutical arena, has secured an additional $9 million in seed funding, expanding its total seed round funding to $37 million. Led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, alongside existing private and institutional investors, such as GlenRock Capital, iAngels, Welltech Ventures, and Richter Group, the additional capital it to help Quris advance its Bio-AI platform, as well as broaden its team and industry collaborations and accelerate its novel drug research. Quris is the first Bio-AI clinical-prediction platform that simulates clinical trials by leveraging a patented patient-on-chip system, using stem-cell-derived tissue and AI to simulate a real human body's reaction to drugs, and thereby circumventing reliance on time-intense, inaccurate animal testing – timely, following a recent passage in the FDA Modernization Act to Ban Animal Testing Mandates. Quris' technology – developed in partnership with The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) research institute – also aims to avoid the costly failure rate of drug candidates in clinical trials, which drive diminishing returns, cause consumer prices to soar, and negatively impact drug innovation. Yossi Cohen, director of Israel Operations for SoftBank Investment Advisers, said: "We believe the early forecasting capability that Quris is developing brings real potential impact to the global pharmaceutical industry."

Nobel Laureate, Aaron Ciechanover, is one of several notable names behind pharma startup Quris. The company aims to bring together artificial intelligence, the industry's vast knowledge of the human genome, and the concept of the "patient on a chip" to improve the effectiveness of drug delivery. Last month, the startup announced the launch of its AI platform and a $9 million seed round, led by Moshe Yanai (the mind behind EMC Symmetrix) and Dr. Judith Richter, and Dr. Jacob Richter (founders of Medinol, which has sold more than 2 million cardiovascular stents). Ciechanover, as well as Moderna cofounder, Robert Langer, are among Quris' noteworthy advisers. For decades, medical research has successfully cured cancer and treated rare diseases in innumerable quantities of mice – but has not done so as frequently in humans.

Robert Langer, the co-founder of Moderna and a lauded MIT professor, said, "We are at the tipping point of the modernization of drug discovery" and that the "Quris platform could be a significant value to pharma companies and the health of society at large." Langer is a member of the scientific advisory board of Quris, which officially launched this week and announced $9 million in seed funding to support its efforts. Nobel laureate Aaron Ciechanover is the chairman of the company's scientific advisory board. Quris, based in Israel and Boston, is an artificial intelligence (AI) company operating in the pharmaceutical space. Its team has developed an AI platform to predict which drug candidates will work most safely and effectively in humans.