Absci relocating innovation from North America to the Greater Zurich Area

Absci, a biotechnology firm based in Vancouver in the US State of Washington and in New York City, has opted for Zug as the location for its new innovation center. The biotech firm specializes in the area of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for its drug development processes. The combination of AI and scalable wet lab technologies allows the company to more rapidly develop more effective drugs.

The Zug Innovation Center brings Absci’s AI-based platform for drug development activities to “the heart of European innovation”, as Sean McClain, founder and CEO of Absci, explains in a press release issued by his company. “Zug is a leading biotech hub for bringing drugs to market. Absci is tapping into its talent and technology ecosystem to realize our mission of bringing life-changing biologics to patients faster, through the power of generative AI and our expansion into the region”, he adds.

This expansion into the European pharma market “signals a new phase in expanding our strategic R&D portfolio and building Absci’s own drug development pipeline”, comments Andreas Busch, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at Absci. The selection of Zug as a location will help the company to tap into “important potential partners, global talent, and AI capabilities in Europe and beyond”, Busch concludes.

The new Zug Innovation Center is operated by the wholly owned subsidiary Absci GmbH, which is managed by Christine Lemke and Christian Stegmann. Generative AI has the potential “to power the next era of drug creation”, with Absci set to play a pioneering role in discovering exactly what can be achieved, according to Stegmann. mm