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Company description

Molecular Forecaster Inc. (MFI) is a Canadian computational drug discovery company founded in 2019, built on 15 years of research at McGill University. MFI develops proprietary software tools and provides research-as-a-service solutions to advance small molecule drug discovery. The company serves pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations globally, supporting programs across hit discovery, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization stages of preclinical drug development.

MFI's multidisciplinary team of medicinal, synthetic, and computational chemists works as a true collaborative partner, embedding itself in client programs to drive progress. The company was part of the inaugural Accelerate Quebec Program within the adMare Bioinnovations Center in Montréal, and its co-founder Nicolas Moitessier is a Full Professor at McGill University. MFI's core mission is to fast-track preclinical pharmaceutical programs on an international scale, grounded in values of integrity, transparency, collaboration, scientific contribution, and due diligence.

Products and Software

• MFI develops proprietary software under the VIRTUAL CHEMIST platform, co-invented by CEO Josh Pottel, Ph.D., designed to support computational chemistry and cheminformatics workflows.
• The software is described as working "like a partner," delivering confidence across hit discovery, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization stages.
• The MFI+ offering represents an expanded product and service tier available to clients seeking deeper integration of MFI's tools and expertise.
• Software solutions are designed to help research teams scale up capacity, work smarter by maximizing computer-aided drug design (CADD) efficiency, and move faster to accelerate results.

Services and Capabilities

• MFI provides tailored research-as-a-service offerings, including CADD support and access to expert computational and medicinal chemists.
• Services are customized to client research objectives, spanning early-stage drug discovery through lead optimization.
• The company supports the design and synthesis of small molecules, integrating structure-activity relationship (SAR) and ADME properties into medicinal chemistry strategy.
• MFI actively participates in competitive drug discovery challenges, including advancing compounds in the CACHE Challenge — most recently progressing a compound to Round 2 in CACHE Challenge #6, targeting SETDB1, a challenging epigenetic binding site.
• Case studies span life sciences ecosystems around the world, with documented results including the identification of nanomolar compounds in partnership with clients such as Alchem Laboratories on a U.S. Department of Defense project.

Ecosystem and Partnerships

• MFI operates within a collaborative ecosystem, partnering with other service providers to deliver expanded capabilities that streamline and accelerate drug discovery projects.
• In June 2025, MFI announced a partnership with TransBIOtech to accelerate the discovery of new small molecule therapeutics.
• MFI has worked with notable partners and clients including adMare Bioinnovations, where it was recognized for its innovative computational chemistry capabilities.
• The company supports fragment library design and other specialized services for fellow service providers and research organizations within the broader life sciences ecosystem.

Team and Scientific Expertise

• Josh Pottel, Ph.D. (CEO) — Ph.D. from McGill University, with post-doctoral research as an NRSA and CERSI fellow at UCSF; co-inventor of the VIRTUAL CHEMIST platform.
• Nicolas Moitessier, Ph.D. (Co-founder and CSO) — Full Professor at McGill University; Ph.D. from Université Henri Poincaré-Nancy (France); expertise in integrating computational chemistry, organic and medicinal chemistry, and software development.
• Mihai Burai-Patrascu, Ph.D. (Director, CADD) — Ph.D. from McGill University; specializes in computational tools for organic and medicinal chemistry, cheminformatics, and software development; published in top journals including Nature Catalysis and JACS; holds two invention certificates.
• Sébastien Alazet, Ph.D. (Principal Scientist) — Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Université of Lyon 1; post-doctoral experience at EPFL Lausanne and University of Toronto; prior industry experience at Nuchem Science, Evotec SA, and adMare Bioinnovations; expertise in medicinal chemistry from hit identification through lead optimization.

Molecular Forecaster combines deep scientific expertise, proprietary computational tools, and a genuinely collaborative approach to help life sciences organizations around the world make smarter decisions in drug design and bring better treatments to patients faster.

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