MORGANTOWN – WVU has formed a strategic partnership with GATC Health Corp, a tech-bio company that uses artificial intelligence to transform drug discovery.
The collaborative agreement facilitates the combination of WVU’s early-stage drug research and GATC’s AI drug discovery platform to accelerate commercialization and create de-risked biotech investment opportunities, GATC said.
Using GATC Health’s Multiomics Advanced Technology (MAT) AI, which simulates complex systems biology with about 90% accuracy, the program empowers researchers to simulate billions of biological interactions, enabling rapid, accurate target discovery, drug identification and testing at the earliest stages of drug development.
By predicting safety, efficacy, and off-target effects, GATC said its platform reduces the risk, time, and cost of traditional drug discovery while simulating clinical trial outcomes before laboratory work begins. By leveraging GATC Health’s AI, the program identifies high-potential projects early in the drug development process.
GATC is supporting the underwriting of the first insurance-backed financial program to fund clinical trials through an exclusive AI partnership with Lloyd’s of London syndicate Medical & Commercial International and in partnership with Acrisure Re Corporate Advisory & Solutions. This offers a secure and innovative funding source for joint ventures stemming from WVU and GATC collaborations, they said.
“This partnership highlights West Virginia University’s dedication to driving innovation and transforming lives through groundbreaking research,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, WVU chancellor & executive dean for Health Sciences. “By joining forces with GATC Health and utilizing their cutting-edge AI technology, we are empowering our researchers to accelerate the path from academic discovery to life-changing therapies, ensuring WVU remains at the forefront of addressing critical healthcare challenges and delivering meaningful outcomes that benefit patients in West Virginia and across the globe.”
Traditional drug discovery and development is a notoriously risky, expensive, and time-consuming process, often requiring over a decade and billions of dollars to bring a single therapy to market, GATC said. The high failure rate—nearly 90% of drug candidates fail during clinical trials—stems from challenges such as inaccurate target identification, unforeseen toxicity, poor efficacy, and lengthy preclinical and clinical trial processes. By applying GATC Health’s AI across these critical stages, drug discovery is becoming faster, more efficient, and more likely to succeed.
“We are thrilled to partner with WVU and launch our University Research Accelerator Program,” said Tyrone Lam, chief business officer of GATC Health Corp. “This collaboration highlights our commitment to empowering academic institutions with cutting-edge AI tools that bridge the gap between research and commercialization, enabling faster delivery of life-changing therapies.”
By focusing on high-probability projects and leveraging GATC’s “fast-fail” AI analysis, WVU will not only enhance its research capacity but also generate revenue much earlier in the discovery process. This innovative approach establishes WVU as a leader in AI-driven research commercialization, they said.
GATC West Virginia, a subsidiary of GATC Health, is based in the WVU Innovation Corp. building. Currently, it is focused on synthesizing drug compounds, a critical step in advancing preclinical testing for innovative treatments targeting conditions such as opioid use disorder, polysubstance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, diabetes, glioblastoma, Alzheimer’s and more, GATC said.
To support this growth, GATC West Virginia said it is expanding its preclinical capabilities by hiring additional scientists this year, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and scientific excellence.
