Vaccine maker Moderna and IBM announced a partnership to explore how AI and quantum computing can help develop new messenger RNA medicines and vaccines.
Moderna and IBM will work together to use and build AI models that
could accelerate mRNA technology and science, which was used to create
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
- mRNA refers to the type of molecules that carry genetic information within cells to synthesize specific proteins.
- Under
a newly signed deal, IBM will give Moderna access to its quantum
computing systems, which could advance the biotech giant's discovery and
development of new mRNA vaccines and therapies.
- IBM will open up its generative AI model, MoLFormer, for use by Moderna scientists to explore to understand "the characteristics of potential mRNA medicines."
- MoLFormer
was designed to help predict a molecule's properties. In this case,
MoLFormer could help to optimize mRNA and lipid nanoparticles that
surround and protect Moderna's mRNA-based payloads.
