20n Bio, an artificial intelligence-powered drug discovery company based in Malvern, recently raised $3.3 million to advance its work in designing new therapeutic proteins, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The funding was led by BlueRun Ventures in China.

The company plans to use the funding to expand its scientific team and discovery platform. It also hopes to embark on several studies in oncology and other genetic diseases.

“The successful development of COVID-19 vaccines by BioNTech and Moderna demonstrates the great potential of mRNA therapeutics,” said Mingfu Zhu, company founder. “In addition to mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer, there is substantial interest in developing mRNA-encoded proteins as drugs.”

The mission of 20n Bio is to use computer modeling and simulation to create new protein drugs that will address unmet medical needs.

Zhu said his business is planning to design new mRNA-encoded proteins that can be used therapeutically.

“We have assembled an experienced team in antibody development, computation biology, molecule biology, and RNA biology to achieve our goals,” he said.

The Managing Director at BlueRun Ventures, Terry Zhu, believes 20n Bio and its artificial intelligence-assisted research holds a great deal of potential to find effective treatments for a wide variety of diseases.

Read more about 20n Bio in the Philadelphia Business Journal.