How Biotech Startups Use AI to Repurpose Existing Drugs

Drug repurposing is one of the fastest, cheapest ways to bring new treatments to patients. But finding which existing drug might work for a different disease has historically been a shot in the dark. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are using machine learning to systematically match approved drugs to new indications. They dig into the story of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, whose AI platform screened over 2 million drug-disease pairs in silico before testing candidates in the lab. Lucas explains how the company's approach cut early-stage R&D costs by roughly 70% compared to traditional discovery. Luna asks about the regulatory path — does the FDA treat repurposed drugs differently? They also discuss the recent wave of partnerships between big pharma and repurposing-focused startups, including a notable deal from early 2026 where a top-10 pharma company licensed two repurposed candidates from a startup using AI-driven transcriptomics. The episode closes with a look at the biggest risk: failure rates in phase 2 trials remain high, even for repurposed drugs. A focused, data-rich conversation for operators and builders in life sciences. #DrugRepurposing #AIinBiotech #MachineLearning #RecursionPharmaceuticals #Transcriptomics #DrugDiscovery #FDA #ClinicalTrials #BigPharma #Business #Technology #Startups #LifeSciences #Biotech #RepurposedDrugs #Phase2Trials #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo