Outsee 获奖以支持利用 AI 寻找 ALS 治疗方法

Longitude Prize gives company funding, access to patient genetic data

Longitude Prize 为该公司提供资金，并使其能够访问患者遗传数据

Outsee has been selected for a Discovery Award from the Longitude Prize on ALS to support the use of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform and large-scale patient genomic data to identify new therapeutic targets for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Outsee 已入选 Longitude Prize on ALS 的 Discovery Award，该奖项将支持该公司使用其基于人工智能（AI）的平台和大规模患者基因组数据，来确定肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）的新治疗靶点。

The Longitude Prize on ALS is a £7.5 million (about $10.1 million) global initiative aimed at accelerating the discovery of ALS treatments by harnessing advances in AI.

Longitude Prize on ALS 是一项 750 万英镑（约 1,010 万美元）的全球计划，旨在利用 AI 的进展加速 ALS 治疗方法的发现。

As part of the award, Outsee will gain access to genomic data from 9,000 people with ALS, along with £100,000 (about $134,000) in funding. The company plans to use its AI-powered predictive genomics platform, Nomaly, to analyze the data and uncover new insights that could lead to new ALS treatments.

作为该奖项的一部分，Outsee 将获得来自 9,000 名 ALS 患者的基因组数据访问权限，并获得 100,000 英镑（约 134,000 美元）资金。该公司计划使用其 AI 驱动的预测基因组学平台 Nomaly 来分析这些数据，并发掘可能带来新 ALS 治疗方法的新见解。

“We are excited to have been selected for a Discovery Award, which will enable us to access genomic data from ALS patients on an unprecedented scale,” Chang Lu, PhD, Outsee’s chief scientific officer, said in a company press release .

Outsee 首席科学官 Chang Lu 博士在公司新闻稿中表示：“我们很高兴入选 Discovery Award，这将使我们能够以前所未有的规模访问 ALS 患者的基因组数据。”

ALS is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons, the nerve cells that control voluntary movement. As these cells are damaged and die, muscles weaken, and patients may eventually lose the ability to move, speak, swallow, and breathe independently. The condition affects an estimated one in 300 people, and its prevalence is expected to rise as the global population ages.

ALS 是一种进行性神经退行性疾病，影响运动神经元，即控制随意运动的神经细胞。随着这些细胞受损并死亡，肌肉会变得无力，患者最终可能失去自主移动、说话、吞咽和呼吸的能力。据估计，该疾病影响约每 300 人中的 1 人；随着全球人口老龄化，其患病率预计将上升。

The Longitude Prize on ALS is structured as a five-year, multi-stage competition designed to use AI to navigate the complexities of ALS and identify new biological pathways and therapeutic targets for the disease.

Longitude Prize on ALS 被设计为一项为期五年、分多个阶段进行的竞赛，旨在利用 AI 应对 ALS 的复杂性，并确定该疾病的新生物通路和治疗靶点。

The Discovery Award is the first stage, in which 20 teams receive £100,000 each and nine months to use AI-based approaches to identify promising ALS therapeutic targets.

Discovery Award 是第一阶段，20 个团队各获得 100,000 英镑，并有 9 个月时间使用基于 AI 的方法来确定有前景的 ALS 治疗靶点。

This first stage is entirely computational and provides teams with access to what the company describes as the world’s largest and most comprehensive ALS patient dataset. This includes full genetic information from 9,000 people with ALS, with 2,000 of those cases having additional biological data showing how genes are regulated, which genes are active, and which proteins are present. Brain imaging and clinical information, such as symptoms and disease course, are included in the dataset.

第一阶段完全基于计算方法，并向团队提供该公司所称的全球最大且最全面的 ALS 患者数据集。该数据集包括来自 9,000 名 ALS 患者的完整遗传信息，其中 2,000 个病例还拥有额外的生物学数据，显示基因如何受到调控、哪些基因处于活跃状态以及存在哪些蛋白质。数据集中还包括脑成像和临床信息，例如症状和疾病进程。

From there, 10 teams advance to a 12-month stage in which they receive £200,000 each to strengthen evidence for their proposed targets using computational and laboratory approaches and prioritize the most promising ones.

随后，10 个团队将进入为期 12 个月的阶段，每个团队获得 200,000 英镑，用于通过计算和实验室方法强化其拟议靶点的证据，并优先筛选最有前景的靶点。

Five teams will then move to a 24-month validation stage, receiving £500,000 each to carry out extensive laboratory validation of the most promising targets. One team will ultimately receive £1 million for demonstrating the strongest therapeutic potential for ALS treatment.

之后，5 个团队将进入为期 24 个月的验证阶段，每个团队获得 500,000 英镑，用于对最有前景的靶点开展广泛的实验室验证。最终，1 个团队将因展示出用于 ALS 治疗的最强治疗潜力而获得 100 万英镑。

Outsee will use its genomics-first platform to analyze the available dataset during the project’s first stage. Unlike approaches that start with a predefined hypothesis, Nomaly uses predictive modeling to analyze the molecular and cellular biology of the genome, which allows it to predict disease and biological traits directly from a single genome.

Outsee 将在项目第一阶段使用其以基因组学为先导的平台来分析可用数据集。与从预设假设出发的方法不同，Nomaly 使用预测建模来分析基因组的分子和细胞生物学，从而能够直接从单个基因组预测疾病和生物学性状。

According to the company, the platform may be able to detect biological signals in datasets that have already been studied using other methods.

据该公司称，该平台或许能够在已经用其他方法研究过的数据集中检测出生物学信号。

Once it identifies potential ALS targets, Outsee will work with partners, including researchers at the University of Oxford, to provide ALS-specific expertise and move promising targets toward further development.

一旦确定潜在的 ALS 靶点，Outsee 将与合作伙伴协作，包括牛津大学的研究人员，以提供 ALS 相关专业知识，并推动有前景的靶点进入进一步开发。

“We have already built a strong internal pipeline of targets in CNS [central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord] diseases, and are confident that our breakthrough genomics platform and expertise in AI-driven target identification uniquely place OutSee to unlock new insights into the mechanisms that underpin ALS, and to translate those insights into valuable new therapeutic targets,” Lu said.

Lu 表示：“我们已经在 CNS [中枢神经系统，包括大脑和脊髓] 疾病领域建立了强大的内部靶点管线，并且相信，我们突破性的基因组学平台和 AI 驱动靶点识别方面的专业能力，使 OutSee 处于独特位置，能够揭示 ALS 发生机制的新见解，并将这些见解转化为有价值的新治疗靶点。”

The Longitude Prize on ALS is funded mainly by the MND Association. Additional supporters include Nesta, the Alan Davidson Foundation, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, LifeArc, FightMND, The 10,000 Brains Project, Answer ALS, and Johns Hopkins’ Packard Center.

Longitude Prize on ALS 主要由 MND Association 资助。其他支持方包括 Nesta、Alan Davidson Foundation、My Name’5 Doddie Foundation、LifeArc、FightMND、The 10,000 Brains Project、Answer ALS 以及 Johns Hopkins 的 Packard Center。