A Dundee-founded company is set to lead a £1 million AI project transforming medicine

Picture: University of Dundee

Dundee’s reputation for innovation has reached new heights after a start-up founded at the University of Dundee was chosen to lead a £1 million UK Government project that could change how medicines are developed worldwide.

PhaSER Biomedical, founded by Professor Roland Wolf from the University’s School of Medicine, has been announced as the delivery partner for a landmark initiative with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The project – known as DAIRR (Determination of AI and Computational Approaches to Reduce the Risk of Drug Interactions) – will combine powerful AI systems with PhaSER’s pioneering 8HUM humanised model to predict how drugs interact in the body. This innovation could reduce side effects, improve patient safety and accelerate the creation of life-changing treatments.

Professor Wolf described the collaboration as “forward-looking and multidisciplinary”, saying it will “accelerate the rapid registration of safer drugs” and bring healthcare closer to truly personalised medicine, where treatments are tailored to each patient.

Working with PhaSER, experts from Dundee’s Schools of Medicine and Life Sciences – including Professors Kevin Read, Jacob George, Chim Lang, and Sir Mike Ferguson – are joining forces with Professor Mark Chaplain from the University of St Andrews to deliver the project.

Professor Rory McCrimmon, Dean of the School of Medicine, said the initiative “has the potential to transform how new medicines are discovered and tested”, adding that it highlights Dundee’s key role in advancing AI-driven healthcare and strengthening the UK’s global standing in life sciences innovation.

This partnership cements the University of Dundee’s position at the forefront of medical innovation – showing how research and entrepreneurship born in the city continue to shape global science.