Clinical Gains & Digital Brains: Relay’s Clinical Progress & Verses’ AI Blueprint
Taking a Look at Relay Therapeutics (RLAY) & Verses AI (VRSSD) News.
In this mid-week’s update, we’re looking at breakthroughs on two very different frontiers — biotechnology & artificial intelligence. Relay Therapeutics (RLAY) just shared encouraging clinical trial news for its targeted cancer therapy, while Verses AI (VRSSD) unveiled a novel “digital brain” architecture that could shake up the AI world. Both developments highlight how innovation is thriving in their respective fields. Here’s a quick, conversational rundown (with deeper analysis reserved for our premium subscribers at Pierce Capital Research).
Relay Therapeutics: Encouraging Cancer Trial Results
Relay is making waves in oncology with new data from its ongoing trial of RLY-2608, a precision-designed PI3Kα inhibitor. The data, presented at ASCO 2025, suggest that Relay’s asset, given with standard therapy fulvestrant, is delivering meaningfully improved outcomes for a tough-to-treat breast cancer population. It’s the kind of progress these patients haven’t seen in over a decade, & it shows the potential of Relay’s computationally guided drug design approach. In short, Relay just took a confident step toward its first approval. Key highlights from the update:
Prolonged Progression-Free Survival: Patients with PI3Kα-mutated, HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (who had already been through the usual CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy) achieved a median progression-free survival (PFS) 10–11 months on RLY-2608 plus fulvestrant. This is notably high for second-line treatment & actually hints at a real improvement over the standard options.
Consistency & Tolerability: The latest results were consistent with earlier findings, reinforcing that the benefit isn’t a fluke. Importantly, RLY-2608 appears well-tolerated — a big deal, since the existing PI3Kα inhibitor in this setting (the current standard of care) is notorious for side effects. Relay’s asset is mutant-selective, aiming to hit cancerous cells hard while going gentler on normal ones.
Pivotal Trial on Deck: Buoyed by these positive data, Relay is gearing up to launch a Phase 3 pivotal trial (nicknamed ReDiscover-2) by mid-2025. This will be the first trial of a mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor to reach Phase 3. Success there could pave the way for regulatory approval & a new treatment option for patients. (Relay is also exploring next-gen combo therapies — imagine adding RLY-2608 to targeted CDK4 inhibitors for a one-two punch. Those efforts are obviously still early, but they show Relay’s ambition to push the envelope.)
Why this matters: Relay’s clinical progress not only validates its technology-driven approach to drug discovery, but it also edges the company closer to a commercial therapy. For investors & biotech watchers, this is a story of high unmet need meets promising science. We’re keeping a close eye on how RLY-2608 might compete with or even displace the current standard treatment if all goes well. (In our full report for subscribers, we dig into how RLY-2608’s results compare to the incumbent drug & what that could mean for Relay’s intrinsic value.)
Verses AI: A New “Digital Brain” Architecture
Meanwhile, on the tech front, Verses AI (I microcap uplisting to the NASDAQ) just pulled back the curtain on an AI breakthrough that has the industry buzzing. The company introduced AXIOM, its codename for a next-generation AI architecture —essentially a “digital brain” inspired by how natural intelligence works. And AXIOM isn’t just a cool concept on paper; it’s already outperforming one of Google DeepMind’s top AI models in a demanding challenge. Verses’ approach leans on active inference (think of it as an AI that learns by modeling the world’s cause-and-effect, rather than simply crunching big data with brute-force neural networks). The result? An AI that can learn faster, using far less data. Here are the highlights:
Beating a Google AI at Its Own Game: In a head-to-head evaluation called Gameworld 10K — a sort of decathlon of classic video games used to test general AI smarts — Verses’ AXIOM model outscored DeepMind’s famed DreamerV3 by about 60% in overall performance. This is impressive, given DreamerV3 is renowned for its ability to generalize across multiple games.
Efficiency Over Power: AXIOM achieved this feat with a fraction of the resources. We’re talking roughly 90% less data & dramatically lower computing needs. In fact, Verses’ “digital brain” learned the games in minutes on a standard CPU, whereas DeepMind’s model took hours on power-hungry GPUs. Translation: Verses’ AI is not only smarter in this test, but also leaner and faster — a potential game-changer for real-world applications where data & computing power are at a premium.
No Neural Networks Required: Perhaps the most intriguing part is that AXIOM does all this without relying on massive neural network training. Instead of the usual backpropagation & mountains of parameters, it uses that active inference approach. This could mean more explainable & reliable AI decisions, addressing some pain points of today’s black-box AI systems.
Path to Commercialization: Verses isn’t just trophy-hunting on benchmarks — it’s folding these advancements into its product roadmap. The company’s flagship platform, Genius, is set to move from beta to a commercial launch in 2025. These new research wins will likely boost Genius’s capabilities, allowing enterprise customers to deploy AI agents that make smarter decisions in real time with far less data. From logistics optimization to robotics, Verses is positioning Genius (powered by AXIOM’s brains) as a disruptive alternative to the big-tech AI offerings that require enormous data centers.
Why this matters: At a time when traditional AI models are running into limits of scaling (& skyrocketing costs), Verses is showing a possible new path forward. For a smaller player to outclass a Google DeepMind model on efficiency raises eyebrows & expectations. It suggests Verses’ bio-inspired, “small data” approach might carve out a niche in the AI market, especially for applications that need agility over sheer brute force. (Our premium analysis digs deeper into how Verses’ technology could be applied commercially & how we model its intrinsic value trajectory in the emerging AI landscape.)
Enjoyed this snapshot? We hope these bite-sized insights give you a flavor of the exciting moves by Relay Therapeutics & Verses AI without spilling all the secrets. If you’re curious about the full story — including our detailed breakdowns, Portfolio Dashboard, & Intrinsic Value Tracker models for each company — you might consider joining us as a premium subscriber at Pierce Capital Research. We dive into the nuances & numbers behind updates like these to help you understand their real impact.
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