AION
“ It all starts with pharma defining a challenge they think would be solved with AI tools ”
NOGA YERUSHALMI INVESTMENT DIRECTOR , M VENTURES
development , before Yerushalmi started at M Ventures in 2018 , where she ’ s involved with AION Labs , an innovation lab that was started by the Israeli Innovation Authority , an arm of the Ministry of Science . Candidates can apply to form a new startup at AION Labs ’ headquarters in Rehovot , Israel , with the chosen AION Labs startup team receiving sponsorship from industry partners .
“ M Ventures joined forces with big pharma , so our partners are AstraZeneca ,
Merck , Pfizer and Teva ,” explains Yerushalmi . “ It all starts with big pharma defining a challenge they think would be solved with AI tools . After candidates apply to bring solutions to the challenge , we select candidates that can answer it . Within a week of bootcamp , they sit together and try to come up with not just the solution , but a work plan and budget that can later be translated to a company that we will set up .”
The end goal of AION Labs is to enable AI engines to change how pharma works today . “ Pharma develops a lot of drugs , but there ' s attrition in the process ,” says Yerushalmi . “ We want to make the process more efficient , shorter , and less expensive , for the benefit of farmers , but also patients and doctors across the healthcare sector .”
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