Recursion Cuts Two Rare Disease Programs

Rare Daily Staff

AI-based drug developer Recursion said it is making cuts to its pipeline to focus on the programs with the strongest scientific rationale and highest potential for near- and long-term impact.

Najat Khan, chief R&D officer and chief commercial officer of Recursion, said with the release of the company’s first quarter earnings report that following Recursion’s business combination with Exscientia, the company is making cuts to focus on “a set of differentiated internal and partnered programs.”

Recursion said it is discontinuing development of REC-2282, its experimental therapy for neurofibromatosis type 2, a condition that causes tumors to grow on the nerves of the inner ear. The company said the totality of data supports the discontinuation of the phase 2 study, which passed its futility threshold.

The company is also discontinuing development of REC-994, its experimental therapy for cerebral cavernous malformation, a condition in which abnormal blood vessels form in the brain and elsewhere. The company said early data suggested promising trends in exploratory efficacy endpoints at the higher of two doses, but new findings from a long-term extension show no promising trends in MRI or functional outcomes in the placebo crossover arm at the higher dose. The earlier trends didn’t continue, and the cohort was indistinguishable from natural history.

“Recursion’s decade-long investment in AI is driving a decisive, data-led portfolio strategy,” said Chris Gibson, co-founder and CEO of Recursion. “We are prioritizing high-potential programs to accelerate better treatments to patients, building on our platform’s unique ability to learn and lead this transformative shift in drug discovery.”

Photo: Chris Gibson, co-founder and CEO of Recursion