Orogen Therapeutics Announces Launch of Scientific Advisory Board with AI Drug Discovery Experts

WOBURN, MA, May 21, 2025 – Orogen Therapeutics, Inc., a private drug discovery company utilizing its proprietary, AI-enabled DNA encoded library (DEL) technology to identify novel chemical matter against medically- and commercially-attractive drug targets, today announced the launch of its Scientific Advisory Board with the joining of Rafa Gómez-Bombarelli, Ph.D., of MIT, and Ian Watson, Ph.D., previously of Eli Lilly and Google.

"As Orogen advances our initial therapeutic programs from our unique AI- and DEL-enabled drug discovery platform, Rafa Gómez-Bombarelli and Ian Watson, pioneers in the AI drug discovery field, bring immense experience to our efforts," said Mark Pykett, Orogen CEO. "Their expertise in applying the use of AI-machine learning technologies to real world drug discovery greatly enhances our capabilities developing novel small molecules against a broad range of target classes. We are grateful to have them on board to help leverage AI to bring novel oral medicines to patients."

AI Drug Discovery Leadership

Rafa Gómez-Bombarelli is a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Salamanca in Spain. An author on over 100 papers, he is a leader in the AI drug discovery (AI-DD) space and an advisor to over a dozen companies on topics related to the optimization of AI for scientific uses.

Ian Watson is an industry expert in AI-DD and a computational scientist with nearly three decades of experience in the field, including at Eli Lilly and Google. He worked for over 20 years in Computational Chemistry, Cheminformatics, Machine Learning and Advanced Analytics in small molecule drug discovery at Eli Lilly. At Google, he applied machine learning in Google Research on DEL libraries. He has particular expertise in Cheminformatics and Machine Learning in support of drug discovery and de-novo molecule generation. Dr. Watson received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University.

Dr. Gómez-Bombarelli commented, "The AI space is rapidly unfolding as a powerful tool in drug discovery. The company has developed unique approaches to deploying AI across their DEL-based screening platform to enhance efficiency and success rates. Having watched Orogen's early success launching its unique AI-enabled platform, I am excited to contribute my understanding of machine learning in small molecule drug discovery to enhance their efforts."

Dr. Watson added, "The use of machine learning in drug screening efforts requires judicious and thoughtful application to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency. Orogen has harnessed AI in a highly productive way that yields improvements in hit identification and lead optimization. Having spent nearly 30 years working on the integration of advanced computation with chemistry at companies like Eli Lilly and Google, I am excited to see the value that AI is able to deliver to Orogen's unique drug discovery platform."

Platform Applications

Orogen applies its AI- and DEL-enabled platform into discrete target, therapeutic area and clinical indication verticals, the first of which is developing small molecule alternatives to biological products in the immuno-inflammation (INI) space. Early screening successes yielded hit series against multiple cytokine targets, with several candidates in lead optimization moving toward anticipated near-term lead selection.

Medically and commercially successful biologics developed for cytokine targets have validated the value of this space in multiple therapeutic areas including dermatology, rheumatology and gastroenterology for indications like psoriasis, eczema, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and IBD. Oral small molecule medicines with good safety and efficacy profiles may represent attractive options for many patients.

Biographical Information

Rafa Gómez-Bombarelli, Ph.D.

Rafa Gómez-Bombarelli is a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his BS, MS, and PhD in chemistry from the University of Salamanca in Spain, followed by postdoctoral work at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. As a postdoc at the Aspuru-Guzik lab at Harvard University he worked on high-throughput virtual screening for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and battery electrolytes and developed the first generative AI for chemistry.

He entered industry in 2016 as a senior researcher at Japanese technology company Kyulux, applying Harvard-licensed technology to build commercial OLED products. He joined the Materials Science and Engineering faculty at MIT in 2018. Professor Gómez-Bombarelli has authored over 100 papers and has been featured in publications such as MIT Technology Review, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

He is co-founder of Lila Sciences, a company pursuing scientific super intelligence and is a scientific advisor / consultant to over a dozen companies on topics related to AI for science.

Ian Watson, Ph.D.

Ian Watson is a computational scientist who worked for 23 years in the Computational Chemistry and Advanced Analytics Departments of Eli Lilly. While working in Computational Chemistry he worked on Cheminformatics and Machine Learning in support of small molecule drug discovery. While working in Advanced Analytics he worked on economic models, clinical trial data visualization, and studying waste in Oncology drug administration.

He then spent 3 years at Google, working in Ads Integrity and Cloud. In Ads Integrity, borrowing concepts from Cheminformatics he developed novel concepts of Ad similarity, and while in Cloud, applied machine learning to detection of Money Laundering and worked in Google Research on DEL libraries.

Today he works primarily in the area of Cheminformatics and Machine Learning in support of drug discovery and de-novo molecule generation. Dr. Watson received his PhD in chemistry from Cornell University.

About Orogen Therapeutics

Orogen Therapeutics' mission is to deliver groundbreaking clinical solutions to patients with serious unmet medical needs. The company is revolutionizing small-molecule drug discovery through its proprietary platform integrating DNA-encoded libraries (DEL) with massive chemical diversity of billions of compounds, virtual screening and AI-driven computation. The company's proprietary, one-of-a-kind target-specific FocusDEL™ (patent pending) seeks to innovate the DEL landscape by enabling enriched hit yields from immense chemical spaces.

This unique foundation is designed to enable the efficient derivation of novel drug candidates against a broad range of target classes. Orogen's team includes scientists with decades of drug development experience and deep expertise in all aspects of small-molecule R&D, including DNA-encoded libraries, target selection and evaluation, cutting-edge AI and data science.

Forward-Looking Statements

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For more information, please visit our website at www.orogentx.com.

Media contact: Mark Pykett, Orogen Therapeutics, markp@orogentx.com