AI drug firm Recursion seeks to move from survival to industry domination

SALT LAKE CITY — On paper, Recursion Pharmaceuticals shouldn’t have worked.

The company — or, at least, what existed at its founding in 2013 — hoped to pull data from images of healthy and diseased cells, and use that data to identify drugs gathering dust on pharmaceutical company shelves that could be repurposed as rare disease treatments. 

The founders were a medical school dropout, an entrepreneur whose most recent success was with a custom sign-making e-commerce shop, and an exacting University of Utah scientist. They didn’t have much in terms of intellectual property — their technology was based around two tools widely shared on the internet, free for anyone to use. And the startup was based in Salt Lake City, Utah — an area better known for its ski slopes and connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than drug development.  

STAT+ Exclusive Story

Already have an account? Log in

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — plus daily coverage and analysis of the biotech sector — by subscribing to STAT+.

Already have an account? Log in

Already have an account? Log in

Individual plans

Group plans

Monthly

$39

Totals $468 per year

$39/month Get Started

Totals $468 per year

Starter

$30

for 3 months, then $39/month

$30 for 3 months Get Started

Then $39/month

Annual

$399

Save 15%

$399/year Get Started

Save 15%

11+ Users

Custom

Savings start at 25%!

Request A Quote Request A Quote

Savings start at 25%!

2-10 Users

$300

Annually per user

$300/year Get Started

$300 Annually per user

View All Plans

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe

Log In