Anima Biotech - Lightning.AI Platform
Visual Biology
Lightning Platform
Anima Biotech is a recognized leader in small molecule mRNA drugs. Validated through strategic collaborations with Lilly, Takeda, and AbbVie, Anima is transforming target and drug discovery with its game-changing TechBio Visual Biology platform, Lightning.AI.
Lightning.AI leverages Anima’s proprietary in-cell pathway visualization technology, PathwayLight™, to run millions of visualizations in high throughput, imaging hundreds of cellular pathways in both healthy and diseased cells. This process generates entirely new, large-scale data drawn directly from the biology of the disease—data no one else has.
Using this data, Lightning.AI trains disease-specific AI models, with neural networks visually learning the difference between healthy and diseased cells, identifying dysregulated pathways—the disease signature. By analyzing these pathways through its Visual Biology Knowledge Graph, Lightning.AI uncovers novel targets backed by experimental validation.
For these targets, Lightning.AI advances through its drug discovery runway to discover smart mRNA drugs - small molecules that visually reverse disease phenotypes by modulating mRNA biology. Lightning.AI continuously builds and evolves proprietary AI models for each disease, generating new data in real time through large-scale visual experimental biology across multiple cell types and disease variants.
This iterative approach empowers pharma companies to develop exclusive franchises with a competitive edge, exploiting evolving models for both target discovery and drug development.
Lightning Use Cases
Unlike traditional AI, which relies on existing datasets, Lightning.AI generates entirely new, disease-specific data through large-scale experimental biology.
Powered by PathwayLight™ technology, it visualizes cellular pathways in high-throughput and high-content from both diseased and healthy cells. By analyzing millions of these pathways, Lightning.AI trains neural networks tailored to each disease, identifying dysregulated pathways—the true signatures of disease mechanisms.
This approach unlocks an unparalleled understanding of disease biology, revealing novel drug targets previously beyond reach. With its unique ability to generate proprietary deep data from diseased cells—analyzed by neural networks to recognize dysregulated pathways—Lightning.AI is as a transformational platform for multiple applications. These include target discovery, identification of small molecules that modulate mRNA biology, and large-scale visualizations to optimize mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.
A Visual Biology Approach to Drug Discovery
The world's largest dataset of disease pathway visualizations
Over the past decade, working across dozens of drug discovery programs within our pipeline and with partners, we have generated a vast proprietary library of cellular pathway visualizations that drives our platform’s applications. Leveraging AI, we analyze and process over 2 billion images of cellular pathways from multiple diseases across diverse therapeutic areas. Our Visual Biology Knowledge Graph, combined with a large language model, enables advanced querying of this extensive dataset. By bringing AI to large-scale cellular pathway imaging analysis, Lightning.AI makes decoding complex biology possible.
Visualizing and Decoding mRNA biology
curated publications
experimental results
technologies
High-Content High-Throughput Platform
Our Visual Biology Lab is a massively parallel, fully automated lab with robotics and high-end microscopy, incorporating our imaging and visual biology assays in high-content, high-throughput screening. The lab is running multiple screening lines in parallel, using screen-to-cloud architecture to process data at ultra-high speeds. Millions of visual biology images are uploaded to the cloud for analysis by the mRNA image network, our visual biology LLM, MOAi technology, and the Lightning co-pilot.
AI Co-pilot
Image Network
Biology LLM
Visual Biology lab
Cellular Biology Pathway visualizations
PathwayLight™ enables high-throughput, high-content visualization of hundreds of biological pathways within cells such as translation, RNA regulation, splicing and mRNA localization.
It provides an unparalleled view of cellular biology by capturing cellular markers, activities, and morphology. The platform uncovers end-to-end processes such as translation, RNA regulation, splicing, localization, transport, kinetics, and molecular modifications.
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Transcription
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Splicing
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Alternative splicing
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Capping
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Polyadenylation
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Modification
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Nuclear Export
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Transport
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Localization
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Stability
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Decay
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Translation
Disease Signature
The mRNA image neural network identifies mRNA regulatory pathways that differentiate healthy and diseased cells, identifying the mRNA biology signature of a specific disease and forming the foundation for our target and drug discovery approaches.

The mRNA Biology Community
As the leader in mRNA biology research with a platform that spans multiple applications, Anima has initiated the LightON mRNA Community, which now includes over 5,000 mRNA biology experts and enthusiasts from industry and the academy.
Our running webinar series provides free valuable educational insights, covering the applications of researching mRNA biology for target discovery, drug discovery, and optimization of mRNA vaccines and RNA-based drugs.
mRNA Biology Modulators Pipeline
Anima's wholly-owned pipeline of mRNA biology modulators is in Immunology (Lung fibrosis candidate advancing in preclinical stage), in Oncology (Solid tumors lead compounds entering preclinical stage and additional programs against Lymphoma and Neuroblastoma), in Neuroscience (Alzheimer's disease and Pain). In addition to our own pipeline, we established strategic collaborations with Pharma in partnered programs including our collaborations with Lilly, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Abbvie.
Indication | Target | Discovery |
Optimization |
Preclinical |
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Immunology |
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Lung fibrosis | 1 | ||||
Multiple fibrosis | 2 | ||||
Multiple fibrosis | 3 | ||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
4 | |||
Oncology |
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Solid tumors | 5 | ||||
Solid tumors | 6 | ||||
Leukemia | 7 | ||||
Neuroblastoma | 8 | ||||
Solid tumors | 9 | ||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
10 | |||
Undisclosed | 11 | ||||
Neuroscience |
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Alzheimer | 12 | ||||
Pain | 13 | ||||
Undisclosed | 14 | ||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
15 | |||
Undisclosed | 16 | ||||
Huntington | 17 | ||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
18 | |||
Undisclosed | 19 | ||||
Undisclosed | 20 |
Area | Indication | Target | Discovery |
Optimization |
Preclinical |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Immunology | Lung fibrosis | 1 | |||||
Multiple fibrosis | 2 | ||||||
Multiple fibrosis | 3 | ||||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
4 | |||||
Oncology | Solid tumors | 5 | |||||
Solid tumors | 6 | ||||||
Leukemia | 7 | ||||||
Neuroblastoma | 8 | ||||||
Solid tumors | 9 | ||||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
10 | |||||
Undisclosed | 11 | ||||||
Neuroscience | Alzheimer | 12 | |||||
Pain | 13 | ||||||
Undisclosed | 14 | ||||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
15 | |||||
Undisclosed | 16 | ||||||
Huntington | 17 | ||||||
Undisclosed | ![]() |
18 | |||||
Undisclosed | 19 | ||||||
Undisclosed | 20 |
17 Scientific Collaborations
16 Peer Reviewed Publications
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Virtual plates: Getting the best out of high content screens
SLAS Discov (2023) Nov 29:S2472-5552(23) -
Measuring mRNA translation in neuronal processes and somata by tRNA-FRET
Nucleic Acids Res. 2020 ;46(6):e32 -
A heterogeneous tRNA granule structure exhibiting rapid, bi-directional neuritictransport
Eur J Cell Biol (2018) ; 97 : 168-179. -
Monitoring protein synthesis in single live cancer cells
Integr Biol (2016); 8 :645-53
Coverage
News & Events
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RNA Leaders Europe Congress 2024
When:
Where: Basel, SwitzerlandAnima’s Vice President of Business Development, Gal Gur, Ph.D., will participate in the upcoming congress during in two roundtable sessions, both focused on the topic of, “Target selection – lessons learned from small molecules RNA Biology,” to discuss her learnings from working on target selection in...
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Anima Biotech Announces Preclinical Data of Candidate in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
When:
Anima Biotech, the Tech.Bio leader bringing AI to mRNA biology, announced today positive preclinical data of its lung fibrosis candidate. This drug operates through a novel mRNA biology mechanism of action, opening new avenues for treating Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) patients.
Utilizing its mRNA Lightning™... -
6th Annual RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery and Development Summit
When:
Where: Boston, MAAnima Biotech will participate in the 6th Annual RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery and Development Summit taking place in Boston, MA from December 12-14, 2024. Our Vice President of Business Development, Gal Gur, Ph.D., will participate on a panel titled, “Overcoming Key Challenges to Improve Drug Design & Discovery...