It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our founder, CEO and Chairman, Dr. Mohammad Afshar, on August 8th, 2024.
Dr. Afshar was a visionary leader, as well as a physician, researcher, entrepreneur, and pioneer in the field of AI and healthcare.
Dr. Afshar was a visionary leader, as well as a physician, researcher, entrepreneur, and pioneer in the field of AI and healthcare.
A Visionary Leader and Pioneer in AI and Healthcare
For over two decades, Mohammad dedicated his expertise and boundless energy to advancing artificial intelligence in healthcare, particularly in the field of clinical trials, both in France and the United States. He was deeply passionate about sharing his scientific and medical knowledge and tirelessly advocated for the crucial role of entrepreneurship in shaping the future of medicine. Known for his quick thinking, stimulating conversations, and forward-looking vision, Mohammad was always ahead of his time.Born in Iran and moving to Paris as a teenager, Mohammad quickly developed a passion for intersecting of new technologies and healthcare. He questioned how technological innovation could be harnessed to improve human well-being. In parallel with his medical degree in Montpellier, he obtained a DEA in Artificial Intelligence and a PhD in Structural Biochemistry. He conducted research at several institutions, including the Department of Chemistry at the University of York in the UK and the CRBM at CNRS in France, before being a key element in the development of RiboTargets (Cambridge, UK), a leading European biotechnology company focus on drug development.
Founding Ariana Pharma: Transforming Data into Knowledge
In 2002, Mohammad focused on his new entrepreneurial project, which was born from discussions with Jean Sallantin and Alain Commerçon about new computational methods based on Galois lattices. Their aim was to address the need for better data analysis and multi-objective analysis in drug development. The challenge: to develop a technology that would transform data into actionable knowledge. To create xAI (eXplainable Artificial Intelligence) using formal concept analysis to identify all possible relationships within data, including hidden or complex relationships often missed by conventional statistical analyses, resulting in a concise and effective signature.Ariana Pharma was launched in 2003 without an office, without funding, without software 😉 At the beginning, it was a combination of people bringing together their skills, networks and ideas. When Ariana was created, AI was still an unfamiliar term, mostly for geeks, machine learning was for specialized computer scientists, and image recognition was anecdotal.
The incubation and investment by the Pasteur Institute were decisive in launching the company, offering daily support from Pascale Altier, the head of BioTop. The CNRS was also involved from the formalization of the concept.
Overcoming Challenges, recognition and expansion
The boost for the company came in the form of seed funding from the Aventis Foundation, which was used to hire the first employee and develop the prototype of the KEM® platform. Shortly after, Ariana’s first clients were signed with the help of Darren Green from GSK and Jonathan Mason from Pfizer.In 2003, Ariana Pharma received the Senate Innovation Trophy. Ariana was a pioneer with ultra-innovative technology in an immature and uninformed market. The first collaboration with BPI (OSEO) and BioRad was foundational.
In 2012, Ariana launched its subsidiary, Ariana Data Intelligence, in the United States, establishing an office in Boston, MA. 2012 was also the year that the FDA recognized the benefits of using KEM®, a major milestone for the company’s expansion in the United States.
In 2019, after participating in several international consortia, particularly in oncology, such as Winther, which resulted in a major scientific publication, Ariana launched OmiCure with the goal of developing and commercializing Onco KEM® to improve precision medicine in routine practice. This new company aims to help patients and physicians in their fight against cancer by providing personalized and actionable knowledge to select the best therapy and regimen tailored to the specific genomic and transcriptomic profiles of each cancer.
Ariana Pharma: A Leader in E-Health and Decision Support
Over 20 years, Ariana Pharma has established itself as a leading decision-support company in e-health by providing intelligent data analysis to enhance the clinical processes of its clients, whether dealing with small data cohorts or managing billions of data points in South America. Not only can clinicians obtain the essential information they need, but they can also deepen their hypotheses and identify the strength of relationships in less obvious cases. The company is involved in designing and analyzing clinical trials to treat neurodegenerative diseases, with projects focused on Alzheimer’s with Anavex USA, and autoimmune diseases with projects like Atraction and AugmentReg and proof-of-concept in many other conditions: infectious diseases, rare diseases, fibromyalgia…A Legacy of Innovation and Humanity in Healthcare
Today, the world of innovative entrepreneurship has lost one of its most influential champions. Mohammad Afshar embodied the spirit of innovation and humanity in modern healthcare, skillfully combining the advances of artificial intelligence with the fundamental needs of patients. Mohammad reminds us that true innovation in healthcare lies not only in the power of algorithms but in our ability to use them to tangibly improve patients’ lives: the union of mathematical rigor and medical pragmatism.Ensuring Continuity and a Strong Future for Ariana Pharma
Mohammad’s unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of medical innovation in service of patients will continue to motivate us. He built a strong and competent team at Ariana Pharma—an exceptional team of engineers and researchers, as he called them—who, inspired by his legacy, will continue to revolutionize medicine through xAI and strengthen Ariana Pharma’s position as a global leader.