Ohio State establishes AI-enabled center for therapeutic discovery and development

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Ohio State establishes AI-enabled center for therapeutic discovery and development

Initiative will leverage university's scale and research strength to drive biotech growth in central Ohio

The Ohio State University today announced a new university initiative designed to accelerate therapeutic discovery, development and commercialization.

Buckeye BioLaunch will leverage Ohio State's scale and research strength to drive biotech growth in central Ohio, fueling job creation, economic development and improved health outcomes for Ohioans.

This is a unique collaborative effort involving the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) and the Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy. The initiative will be under the direction of Deanna Kroetz, dean and professor, and Xiaolin Cheng, professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy, from the College of Pharmacy.

"Ohio State intends to be a national force in therapeutic innovation, where producing new medicines every five to 10 years becomes an expected outcome," Kroetz said. "To realize that vision, we are committing to empowering investigators, aligning incentives and building the infrastructure needed to move discoveries toward real-world impact through coordinated leadership and strategic investment."

Anchored in the Innovation District at Ohio State and focused on unlocking innovation and commercialization across the university, Buckeye BioLaunch will support projects across the full continuum of drug development, from genomics to target to molecule to medicine.

"The 'why now' is simple: AI is transforming drug discovery at a remarkable speed, and the Wexner Medical Center's investment in Ohio State Genomic Health (OSGH) gives us the rich clinical and genomic datasets needed to lead," Kroetz said. "Combined with the College of Pharmacy's depth in drug development and the College of Medicine's strengths in clinical and translational research, we are uniquely positioned to advance therapeutic development and provide new pathways for treatment to Ohioans."

Buckeye BioLaunch aims to support between 10 to 20 AI-driven screening projects annually that will drive a robust pipeline of therapeutics advancing toward commercialization. Progress will be measured through defined metrics, including new composition-of-matter patents, technical development milestones, licenses, startup formation and clinical trials.

This strategic investment is complementary to several new initiatives at Ohio State, including new college-driven faculty hires in computational chemistry, genomics and health data AI through the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Faculty Hiring Initiative Ohio State has also launched the AI^(X) Hub at The Ohio State University, a collaborative hub dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence research and innovation across disciplines including healthcare.

"This effort aligns directly with the Wexner Medical Center's commitment to deliver the best care to every person, every time," said John J. Warner, CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State. "As a leading public research university with a world-class academic medical center and renowned cancer hospital, Ohio State is uniquely positioned to be a leader in AI-enabled therapeutic development - driving healthcare transformation across Ohio and nationally."

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