BioTalent Canada’s 2021 labour market study projected that Canada’s bio-economy would require 65,000 additional workers by 2029, with particularly severe pressure in manufacturing and production. At the same time, employers are under growing pressure to adopt digital technologies and artificial intelligence to increase productivity and remain competitive.

“AI is not a replacement for the talent our sector needs. It is a tool that can help people work more effectively while employers continue the essential work of recruiting, developing and retaining a highly skilled workforce,” says Rob Henderson, President and CEO, BioTalent Canada. “BioReady Ontario links training to real workplace experience so employers can build confidence in new talent and strengthen their workforce for the long term.”

The Ontario-focused initiative will provide role-specific generative AI for biomanufacturing (a manufacturing process that uses living cells to produce commercial products) and digital-skills training to 800 participants, including incumbent workers and unemployed or underemployed job seekers. Up to 200 participants will complete a 40-hour applied AI micro-credential, and 200 job seekers will take part in 16-week work-integrated learning placements with Ontario biomanufacturing employers.

Also Read: Genmab and Incyte Partner to Advance Clinical Research in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer 

BioTalent Canada’s experience with work-integrated learning provides a useful context for that approach. In results from its Student Work Placement Program, 70 percent of surveyed employers indicated they would consider hiring their program participant for a long-term role after the placement; 98.6 percent said they would participate in the program again; and 99 percent said the placement benefited their company.

Recent Canadian evidence also supports a people-first approach to AI. The Bank of Canada reported that almost 90 percent of businesses that adopted AI saw no effect on staffing levels. Statistics Canada has found that AI’s productivity potential depends on complementary capabilities, including employee training, data analytics, cloud computing and broader organizational change.

Delivered in partnership with Propero Learning Systems Inc., Keyin College and participating Ontario employers, the program will combine short-course learning, applied micro-credentialing and workplace experience. Training will focus on safe and effective workplace use, digital skills and technology adoption, with content informed by employer needs.

The initiative will support Ontario’s bio-health, bio-industrial, agri-bio and bio-energy subsectors. It will prioritize participation from underrepresented groups and use ongoing monitoring and evaluation to support measurable employment and workplace outcomes.

Source: Businesswire

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“This collaboration supports our broader development strategy for petosemtamab as we explore its potential across treatment settings and in novel combinations,” said Judith Klimovsky, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Genmab. “Partnering with Incyte enables us to evaluate this investigational combination in patients with KRAS G12D-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, reflecting our commitment to research collaborations aimed at expanding potential treatment options for more patients.”

Also Read: Mahalo Banking Completes 17th Corelation Conversion in 2026, With 21 Expected by Year-End 

“Metastatic colorectal cancer remains difficult-to-treat, underscoring the importance of evaluating novel combinations grounded in complementary scientific approaches with the potential to enhance efficacy,” said Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., President, Incyte and Global Head of Research and Development. “Our collaboration with Genmab will explore the potential of combining KRAS G12D inhibition with LGR5-targeted EGFR inhibition and standard-of-care chemotherapy, with the goal of advancing a new first-line treatment approach for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.”

Under the collaboration, Genmab will conduct the Phase 1/2 study evaluating petosemtamab in combination with INCB161734 and standard-of-care chemotherapy in patients with KRAS G12D-mutated mCRC in the first-line setting. Incyte will co-fund the study and provide clinical supply of INCB161734.

KRAS mutations occur in approximately 40% of colorectal cancers, with G12D being the most common KRAS mutation. These cancers are associated with poor prognosis, underscoring the need for new treatment approaches. The collaboration reflects a shared focus on investigating whether agents with distinct and potentially complementary mechanisms, combined with standard-of-care chemotherapy, may offer a path toward a new treatment option for patients with KRAS G12D-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer.

SOURCE: Globenewswire

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Also Read: MyOme and Oracle Partner to Advance Global Scale Predictive Genomic Risk Modeling

The launches build on more than 25 years of biomedical knowledge from QIAGEN Digital Insights (QDI), whose bioinformatics tools are used by around 150,000 users. QIAGEN is also expanding AI across its digital portfolio, including AI-powered translation in QIAGEN Clinical Insight Interpret and machine learning combined with expert-reviewed information in Franklin by QIAGEN. The company’s approach emphasizes evidence-based AI, addressing concerns around the reliability and transparency of AI-generated scientific insights as researchers handle increasingly complex datasets. The expansion positions QIAGEN to support pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic research organizations seeking to integrate AI into biological analysis and drug discovery while retaining scientific context and confidence in the results.

Read More: QIAGEN Expands AI-Powered Bioinformatics for Research and Drug Discovery

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Also Read: Unchained Labs Launches AI Developability Workcell for Biologics R&D 

Underscoring the strategic relevance of scaling high-throughput genomic data on secure cloud infrastructure, Matt Rabinowitz, PhD, executive chairman of MyOme, stated: “Our collaboration with Oracle is an important step toward making predictive genomics available at global scale. Pairing MyOme’s whole-genome platform with OCI’s global infrastructure lets us identify people at high risk for preventable disease early enough to act on it.” Reaffirming the focus on clinical impact and early intervention, Dan Spellman, group vice president, AI and OCI, Healthcare & Life Sciences at Oracle, added: “By making predictive genomics accessible, clinicians have more information to decide on the right intervention at the right time. Together, we’re driving toward a better standard for healthcare globally.” Ultimately, this partnership provides healthcare organizations worldwide with a secure, enterprise-grade infrastructure to deliver personalized, preventive clinical care that reduces long-term treatment costs and improves patient outcomes.

Read More: MyOme and Oracle Collaborate to Advance Genomic Risk Prediction at Global Scale

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Also Read: Guardant Health Earns FDA Approval for Guardant360 CDx

Highlighting the shift away from legacy workflows, Tim Harkness, Founder and CEO of Unchained Labs, stated: “Developability research has been stuck in the past samples moving from tool to tool, data trapped in different software and scientists left to piece together the answer. The AI Developability Workcell changes all of that. Automation, sample prep, analytics and AI work together from day one so teams can ditch the chaos, stop chasing data and start advancing the right candidates in days instead of weeks.” Ultimately, this platform-native workcell provides biopharmaceutical research organizations with an end-to-end, automated ecosystem that maximizes sample efficiency, standardizes structured data generation, and optimizes early-stage biologic drug development.

Read More: Unchained Labs Puts AI to Work, Debuts Developability Workcell

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Also Read: Abcam and Genedata Collaborate to Accelerate AI-Driven Antibody Development

Reaffirming the clinical impact of shifting from reactive treatment to proactive ctDNA surveillance, Helmy Eltoukhy, Guardant Health chairman and co-CEO, stated: “This approval represents a landmark shift in how we define disease progression and reinforces the transformative role of liquid biopsy in guiding therapy decisions earlier at a critical moment in a breast cancer patient’s treatment journey.” Representing the 29th global companion diagnostic indication for Guardant360 CDx, this approval reinforces Guardant’s extensive reimbursement footprint across Medicare and commercial payers covering over 300 million lives while establishing circulating tumor DNA monitoring as an essential clinical protocol in precision oncology workflows.

Read More: Guardant Health Announces Landmark FDA Approval of Guardant360^® CDx as Companion Diagnostic for AstraZeneca’s ETCAMAH (camizestrant) in Advanced Breast Cancer

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Also Read: Clarivate Expands Agentic AI Across Cortellis Portfolio to Accelerate Drug Development

“As researchers seek high-quality antibodies across a growing range of targets and applications, it is essential that we continue to scale and evolve our development capabilities to meet their needs,” said Kaveh Kahen, PhD, President at Abcam. “By building on Genedata’s world class platform we benefit from automation, connectivity, and flexibility needed to support our global R&D operations. Together, we have created a stronger foundation for data-driven innovation, enabling us to develop and deliver high-quality antibodies more efficiently and create greater value for customers.” Othmar Pfannes, PhD, President of Genedata, said the collaboration will help scientific teams generate actionable insights at scale and establish a foundation for AI-powered discovery, ultimately enabling researchers to access validated reagents faster.

Read More: Abcam and Genedata Collaborate to Accelerate AI-Driven Antibody Development at Global Scale

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In conventional pharmaceutical research, prioritizing candidate compounds presents significant financial and operational risk. Established computer-aided virtual screening methods depend heavily on detailed crystal structures of disease targets, leaving many biologically significant targets inaccessible. AQPotency eliminates this bottleneck by running on standard computing hardware to evaluate molecule-target pairs in seconds at approximately $1 per 1,000 comparisons. Furthermore, the model delivers actionable confidence intervals and domain-of-applicability scores for every prediction, offering clear visibility into result reliability.

“SandboxAQ’s models have been very impactful for our work as we develop new treatments for Parkinson’s,” said Professor Dario R. Alessi, OBE, FMedSci, FRS, Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee. “These models enable us to explore a much larger biochemical space in a short timeframe and improve both activity and selectivity. SandboxAQ’s unique datasets and models stand out in the industry for their impact.”

Dual-Directional Screening and Structural Flexibility

Beyond standard target-to-molecule scoring, AQPotency features reverse-screening capabilities. Researchers can evaluate a single promising compound against a wide panel of human proteins to generate ranked binding predictions, helping teams uncover mechanisms of action for uncharacterized molecules.

Key functional capabilities of AQPotency include:

Structure-Free Molecular Scoring: Evaluates compound potency across previously unmapped or complex protein targets, expanding discovery efforts beyond traditional 3D crystal structures.

Quantifiable Confidence Metrics: Provides explicit reliability scores alongside each prediction, allowing biopharma teams to allocate laboratory budgets exclusively to high-confidence leads.

Reverse Target Profiling: Scans individual molecules against broad protein panels to identify binding sites and clarify complex biological pathways.

Integrated Cloud Deployment: Connects directly into Claude via MCP, with upcoming enterprise distribution planned for Google Cloud Marketplace.

Also Read: QIAGEN Broadens QIAcuity Digital PCR Portfolio to Drive Biopharma Innovation 

“This collaboration with SandboxAQ highlights the power of combining advanced AI-enabled discovery with rigorous experimental validation to unlock novel opportunities against historically difficult membrane targets. By identifying selective SV2C binders from a broad commercial library, the work establishes a compelling foundation for the development of first-in-class small-molecule tools and future therapeutics aimed at Parkinson’s disease and other disorders of dopaminergic signaling,” said Dr. Gary W. Miller the Adrienne Block Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and the Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Andrea Bortolato, Vice President of Drug Discovery, at SandboxAQ, said: “AQPotency has given us and our customers a faster, scalable and reliable way to prioritize compounds in the workflows we already run, without needing a 3D crystal structure of the target. This opens up programs that structure-based methods simply couldn’t reach. The confidence intervals make the output actionable for biopharma companies, and the model has already been successfully used in eight customer programs with experimentally validated impact.”

“What’s compelling about AQPotency is that it makes high-value discovery decisions faster and more practical,” said Robin Roehm, CEO and Co-Founder at Apheris, which offers federated data and AI networks for life science companies. “Researchers can prioritize the most promising compounds with greater confidence, focus experimental resources where they matter most, and expand discovery efforts to targets that have traditionally been harder to pursue.”

Commercial Availability

AQPotency is available immediately via Claude through MCP and SandboxAQ’s main platform, with deployment on Google Cloud Marketplace scheduled to follow. Concurrent with this launch, SandboxAQ has also released AQCat Adsorption Spin, a specialized LQM built to accelerate catalyst discovery within materials science and chemical engineering applications.

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Also Read: GenScript and Tamarind Bio Partner to Connect AI Molecular Design with Lab Validation 

Contextualizing this paradigm shift, Anne Lecocq, Senior Vice President and General Manager, R&D, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Clarivate, said: “In modern R&D, success depends on how quickly teams can translate complex data into decisive action. Cortellis is advancing this shift with agentic AI, evolving from insight delivery to workflow execution across the product lifecycle. Together, these innovations reflect the evolution of Cortellis from a trusted information source into a connected ecosystem of agentic capabilities that augment human expertise across the R&D lifecycle. Built on trusted data, it empowers teams to reduce friction, align decisions and act with precision in high-stakes environments.” Ultimately, this strategic rollout equips global research organizations to make faster, evidence-based decisions, optimize resource allocation, and accelerate the commercialization of impactful therapeutics.

Read More: Clarivate Scales Agentic AI Across Cortellis to Advance Drug Development

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Also Read: Revvity Launches “Signals for Startups” to Empower Early-Stage Biotechs 

“But biology still determines what moves forward. By connecting AI-powered design to experimental proof, this partnership is helping lay the groundwork for the next generation of scientific innovation.” Underscoring the goal of democratizing computational biology and accelerating R&D timelines, “Tamarind was built to make advanced molecular design accessible to every scientist,” said Deniz Kavi, CEO and Co-Founder of Tamarind Bio. “Partnering with GenScript bridges the gap between digital design and physical experimentation, empowering scientists to turn promising candidates into actionable lab results faster than ever.” Ultimately, this connected framework empowers research teams across therapeutics and industrial biotechnology to evaluate candidate molecules faster, build higher-quality datasets, and make better-informed discovery decisions.

Read More: GenScript and Tamarind Bio Partner to Connect AI Molecular Design with Rapid Lab Validation

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