InSilicoTrials, a health tech company that develops AI-based simulation to predict drug safety and efficacy in the drug development process, announced it has been accepted into the Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program.
The Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program is an invitation-only program intended to accelerate the expansion of high-potential startups. It links growth-stage companies with Microsoft’s global sales channels and enterprise customer network.
The program is aimed at startups with proven product-market fit and the capability to scale in areas such as AI, healthcare, cybersecurity and retail.
InSilicoTrials will utilize Microsoft Azure’s cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities to advance its digital simulation platform, which supports pharmaceutical and biotech companies and researchers in increasing research and development, improving clinical trial design and lowering dependence on traditional clinical studies.
In a statement, InSilicoTrials said its technology includes “digital twin and virtual patient models, AI-based simulations and privacy-preserving synthetic patient populations, tools designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of drug development.”
Involvement in the Pegasus program will help InSilicoTrials deliver its offerings through the Azure Marketplace.
“InSilicoTrials is focused on expanding access to simulation and AI tools that help life sciences organizations de-risk faster development of safer, more effective treatments,” Luca Emili, CEO of InSilicoTrials, said in a statement.
“Joining the Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program allows us to scale our reach, enhance our integration with Microsoft Azure and bring the benefits of in silico trials to more customers worldwide.”
THE LARGER TREND
In 2024, Outbound AI was selected to participate in Microsoft’s Pegasus program.
Outbound AI is a conversational AI tool for healthcare with 24/7 virtual agents that focus on the revenue cycle, including eligibility and benefits verification, claims status and prior authorization.
In May, Microsoft added Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI’s Grok 3 to its Azure platform. Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini are available through Azure’s AI Foundry platform, which enables developers to design, manage, customize and support enterprise-ready AI agents and applications.
In 2023, healthcare insurer Blue Shield of California announced a multiyear cloud development plan with Microsoft to offer its members an integrated data hub, dubbed the Experience Cube, that runs on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.
In May, the Microsoft Research-University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology and InSilicoTrials added two advanced computational models to their platform for prostate cancer.
The organizations said the addition of two advanced computational models to the InSilicoTrials platform allows researchers and pharmaceutical companies to develop therapies faster. The models are designed to help scientists predict which drug combinations will be most effective.
