DaltonTx awarded grant to accelerate AI-powered tuberculosis drug discovery

• Funding from the Gates Foundation supports development of open-access AI models, workflows and datasets to help researchers identify new tuberculosis (TB) targets for faster and more cost-effective drug discovery
• Project will analyse hundreds of essential TB proteins at proteome scale, demonstrating Dalton’s ability to tackle complex scientific challenges
• Collaboration with Ersilia will make findings accessible to researchers across the Global South
  
  

LONDON, Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dalton^Tx, the decision engine for drug discovery, today announces that it has been awarded a grant by the Gates Foundation to advance tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery programmes using its AI-enabled platform, Dalton.

The funding will support large-scale computational screening programmes focussed on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium responsible for TB. Given the significant burden that TB and other infectious diseases continue to place on low- and middle-income countries, there is an urgent need for fast, cost-effective approaches that can help the drug discovery process. Using Dalton’s combination of state-of-the-art protein structure prediction, machine learning and physics-based modelling, the project will analyse hundreds of essential and vulnerable Mtb genes to identify novel chemical starting points for drug discovery.

By enabling researchers to evaluate potential drug-target interactions at proteome scale, the approach could significantly reduce the time and costs associated with identifying promising chemical starting points for future TB therapies. The project will also evaluate the predictive performance of the computational models using existing biological and chemical data, helping to establish effective approaches for AI-driven infectious disease research.

The award marks a significant milestone for Dalton^Tx and further supports the company’s AI-enabled drug discovery platform, Dalton. It demonstrates the platform’s ability to operate at unprecedented scale while addressing highly complex scientific challenges in infectious disease research.

Dr. Garry Pairaudeau, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Dalton^Tx said: “Receiving this support from the Gates Foundation will support both our AI-enabled technology and our vision for the future of drug discovery. This project demonstrates how the Dalton platform can be applied to complex scientific challenges at scale, helping researchers identify new opportunities for therapeutic intervention faster and more efficiently. By combining advanced AI modelling with open-access datasets and tools, we aim to not only speed the search for new TB treatments but also generate approaches that can support global health research more broadly.”

As part of the project, Dalton^Tx will partner with Ersilia, a non-profit organisation focused on equipping scientists in low- and middle-income countries with AI tools for drug discovery. Through the collaboration, validated models, datasets and workflows developed through the programme will be made available via the Ersilia Model Hub, enabling broader access to advanced computational drug discovery capabilities. The programme will also support training, workshops and deployment across the Global South.

The project aims to develop computationally efficient versions of the models that can be used in lower-resource research environments, helping ensure that cutting-edge AI tools are accessible to scientists regardless of geography or computing infrastructure.

This announcement builds on a series of recent collaborations highlighting the versatility of the Dalton platform. These include partnerships with Bonito Biosciences and Sygnature Discovery, further demonstrating the platform’s ability to support complex drug discovery programmes across a range of therapeutic areas and scientific challenges.

For more information, please contact:

Optimum Strategic Communications
Nick Bastin, Eleanor Cooper, Henry Williams
Tel: +44 20 4604 4016
Email: daltontx@optimumcomms.com

About Dalton^Tx
Dalton^Tx is building the intelligence backbone for modern drug discovery, combining AI, human expertise, and experimental data into one continuous learning engine.

The Dalton platform works across the entire drug discovery process for small molecules and biologics. It captures what worked, what failed and why, with full context and perfect memory so judgement compounds over time. Agents propose strategies, evaluate trade-offs, and autonomously orchestrate a comprehensive suite of AI, physics and ML tools and models.
The outcome is smarter decisions, fewer wasted experiments, and the confidence to tackle more complex biology, knowing that every cycle improves the next choice.

Founded on research from the University of Oxford and built by leaders with decades of experience behind AI discovery platforms at AstraZeneca and Exscientia, Dalton^Tx delivers state of the art scientific AI with, secure, enterprise quality engineering.

About Ersilia
The Ersilia Open Source Initiative (Ersilia; https://ersilia.io) is a non-profit organisation bringing AI expertise to drug discovery for neglected and infectious diseases. Through open-source software, collaborative science and training, it supports researchers in resource-limited settings and works towards a research ecosystem that serves the Global South.

About the Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we work with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, we aim to ensure that everyone – especially those with the fewest resources – has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Bill Gates and our governing board.