VeriSIM Life launches PulmoSIM Therapeutics to Develop Treatments for Rare Respiratory Diseases

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, VeriSIM Life (VeriSIM) announces the launch of its pharmaceutical subsidiary, PulmoSIM Therapeutics (PulmoSIM) with the mission to address the unmet needs in the treatment of rare respiratory diseases, with an immediate emphasis on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

PulmoSIM is developing breakthrough therapies for rare and progressive respiratory diseases to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. PulmoSIM’s approach modulates multiple biological pathways with a single agent, thus alleviating the need of combination therapies. With repurposing and repositioning already approved FDA drugs, PulmoSIM is targeting the underlying biology to effectively treat PAH and IPF.

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of PulmoSIM as it demonstrates the indefinite capabilities of the VeriSIM’s platform, BIOiSIM, in accelerating drug development by bridging the translational gap between preclinical and clinical phases. In contrast to working with pharmaceutical and biotech companies in developing their drug portfolios, the PulmoSIM launch will be the first of many assets we will be developing to solve the most challenging and unaddressed diseases impacting human-kind”, said Dr. Jo Varshney.

“Out of >7,000 rare diseases, many exist in hard-to-reach peripheral regions of the respiratory system. PulmoSIM aims to leverage the immense potential drug repurposing has to offer, to tackle at least a few of these rare diseases. Development of affordable, and commercially feasible therapies is one of the many ways to improve quality of life and compliance among the patients suffering from these indications”, said the Scientific Founder, Dr. Vivek Gupta.

PulmoSIM is also pleased to announce the establishment of its Scientific Advisory Board: Dr. Eva S. Nozik, MD (Professor, Pediatrics-Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO), Dr. Samir Mitragotri, PhD (Hiller Professor of Bioengineering and Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA), and Dr. Hugh Smyth, PhD (Alcon Centennial Professor of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, University of Texas, Austin, TX).

“Unlike current approaches that seek symptomatic relief, PulmoSIM’s approach is novel as it targets the biology of the disease. Targeting the underlying disease mechanisms opens the path to effective and life-saving therapies”, said Dr. Samir Mitragotri.

The launch of PulmoSIM is an exciting venture for VeriSIM, and is the next phase in leveraging their first-in-class artificial intelligence platform to predict the clinical efficacy of drugs and propel drug development innovation forward. The PulmoSIM team is well-versed in respiratory diseases, product development, and has the experience, expertise, and relationships to efficiently address further operational, clinical, regulatory, competitive, and financial risks as we propel to clinical proof-of-concept. To learn more about our pipeline, approach, and how we can partner - contact us at: [e-mail]

About VeriSIM Life: VeriSIM is redefining the approach to preclinical and clinical drug development with an AI enabled platform that delivers bio-simulations and predicts the clinical outcomes of drugs before human trials. Our approach model is built to accurately translate, scale, and accelerate development; derisking R&D decisions and enabling pharmaceutical and biotech organizations with the insights to propel innovation forward. With our first-in-class, proprietary AI-enabled platform our team of scientists, modelers, chemists, and software engineers are your partners on a mission to advance human health.

About Dr. Jyotika Varshney: Dr. Jo Varshney, DVM, PhD in comparative oncology/genomics, is the founder and CEO of VeriSIM and its wholly-owned subsidiary, PulmoSIM. She is a visionary in the field of personalized disease models and artificial intelligence/machine learning led drug development. She is the inventor of the core technology that utilizes a unique approach of integrating AI/ML techniques into the modeling paradigm to enhance the scalability and security to advanced software systems and can capitalize or capture the early drug development market. Dr. Varshney is a dynamic and celebrated leader and additionally, she serves on several advisory boards to help other deep-tech companies commercialize their science and technology.

About Dr. Vivek Gupta: Dr. Vivek Gupta, PhD, is the scientific founder of PulmoSIM. Dr Gupta has 14+ years of experience in developing localized therapies for rare respiratory diseases including PAH and IPF. He also serves as an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at St. John's University, NY, where his research group focuses on novel drug discovery and delivery for respiratory disorders.