Matthias Klaften | COO & CFO
Systasy

BioTechX Europe Day 2 @ 12:50

Rapid identification and validation of novel targets in complex mental disorders

More than 980 million people worldwide suffer from mental and neurological disorders, over half of whom remain untreated—highlighting a pressing unmet medical need. Traditional drug discovery approaches often lack a deep understanding of the genetic imbalances underlying these conditions, while AI/ML-guided methods frequently rely on low-quality input data and struggle to produce results that hold up in wet lab validation.

We present a novel workflow for the rapid prioritization and further elucidation of biological mechanisms in schizophrenia. This approach uses differentially expressed genes (DEGs) derived from case–control transcriptomic studies as input and integrates them the Dimensions Knowledge Graph by metaphacts, which transformed publicly available relational data into semantically-rich data, enabling structured and context-sensitive exploration of disease-relevant genes, pathways, and interactions. To validate and functionally characterize computational insights, we leverage Systasy’s pathwayProfiler technology to assess the pathway-modulating effects of active compounds in neuronal models.

This integrated pipeline facilitates the discovery of novel drug targets by transforming typically descriptive relational data into a semantically rich knowledge graph, directly informing early-stage drug discovery through its structured and interconnected nature. Our pipeline sets the foundation for a scalable framework where the semantic layer is used to incorporate diverse omics data as inputs and integrate additional layers of biological context—including protein–protein interaction networks, pathway annotations, and compound characteristics. This layered approach enables a hypothesis-driven selection of candidate drugs through knowledge graph exploration, complemented by functional validation using Systasy’s pathwayProfiler—ultimately accelerating translational drug discovery in complex diseases such as schizophrenia.

Peter Dörr, Director Presales, Solution Design and Strategy, Metaphacts

Matthias Klaften, COO & CFO, Systasy

×

Matthias Klaften / Rapid identification and validation of novel targets in complex mental disorders

Matthias Klaften, COO & CFO,
Systasy

Matthias Klaften is a dynamic and results-driven executive with a proven track record of success in the biotech and healthcare industries. As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Systasy, Matthias brings a unique blend of strategic vision, financial acumen, and...

CloseMore