Xaira is an integrated biotechnology company built to deliver on the promise of artificial intelligence to help transform drug discovery and development
Xaira Therapeutics announced the appointment of Dr. Bo Wang as SVP and Head of Biomedical AI. In this role, Dr. Wang will lead the company’s efforts to develop AI-driven models to help elucidate the molecular basis of poorly treated diseases and to match novel treatments to patients most likely to respond – two major challenges of the drug discovery process.
“Throughout his career, Dr. Wang has been at the forefront of the application of AI to biology and medicine,” said Marc Tessier-Lavigne, CEO of Xaira Therapeutics. “His deep expertise and experience will be instrumental as we expand Xaira’s AI capabilities to accelerate drug discovery and develop novel therapeutics for patients in need.”
Dr. Wang is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology at the University of Toronto, where he is also the inaugural Temerty Professor in AI Research and Education in Medicine. He is the Chief AI Scientist at the University Health Network, the largest research hospital system in Canada. He also holds a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) AI Chair at the Vector Institute.
Also Read: Isomorphic Labs raises $600M to advance AI drug design
Dr. Wang earned his PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University and has been at the forefront of developing novel AI models for biomedical research. His recent work focuses on developing foundation models for healthcare and biology, including AI-driven frameworks for genomic analysis, precision medicine, and biomolecular modeling. As a pioneer in multimodal AI, he has led efforts to create scalable, interpretable models that integrate diverse biological and clinical data, enabling more accurate disease characterization and personalized treatment strategies. His research has laid the groundwork for AI-driven innovations in drug discovery, biomarker identification, and next-generation medical diagnostics.
“Artificial intelligence has unlocked unprecedented insights into biology, but our true challenge is turning these discoveries into real-world treatments,” said Dr. Wang. “I’m excited to join Xaira to bridge cutting-edge machine learning with therapeutic innovation—transforming AI’s promise into life-changing medicines.”
In October 2024, Dr. David Baker, Xaira co-founder, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Drs. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper of Google DeepMind for pioneering AI-driven advancements in protein structure prediction and novel protein design. The Xaira team is working to advance these models while developing new methods that can connect the world of biological targets and engineered molecules to the human experience of disease.
Source: Businesswire
