Founded 2014

AI built for
drug discovery
before it was obvious

NeuroInitiative is a computational biology company. Our patented AI simulation platform has been identifying drug targets since 2014. Vincere Biosciences is the proof — a Parkinson's disease therapy entering Phase 1 clinical trials in 2026, discovered and developed from a target our platform prioritized.

Est. 2014 · A decade ahead

The origin

We built the platform first.
Then used it.

In 2014, before "AI drug discovery" was a category, we built a patented computational simulation engine to model neural molecular interactions and surface drug targets. We've been running it ever since. The result is a pipeline of programs — and one company about to dose its first human patient.

2014
NeuroInitiative founded Spring Behrouz, PhD and Andy Lee found the company to build AI simulation tools for neurodegenerative drug discovery.
2015
SEED platform operational The Simulation Engine for Early Drug discovery launches. Patented in silico modeling of neural molecular interactions. The platform that makes everything else possible.
2018
Vincere Biosciences founded A dedicated drug development company spun out to advance mitophagy-enhancing small molecules for neurodegeneration and age-related disease.
2019
USP30 prioritized as the lead target SEED analysis identifies USP30 — the enzyme that opposes mitophagy — as the most compelling drug target. Fewer than 20 published papers addressed it at the time.
2025
Thesis validated externally Michael J. Fox Foundation names USP30 a top-five Parkinson's target. Vincere closes Series A. Beiersdorf licenses the technology for skin aging.
2026
Phase 1 clinical trials begin Vincere's lead USP30 inhibitor VB-23 enters human trials — the first disease-modifying Parkinson's therapy to reach the clinic from a purely AI-prioritized target.

By the numbers
2014
Year founded — a decade before the AI drug discovery wave
5 yrs
From AI target identification to IND-ready clinical candidate
3
Development candidates advanced across neurodegeneration and cardiorenal disease
2040s
Patent protection on composition of matter — all invented in-house
Proof of concept

Vincere Biosciences

The most direct evidence that AI-driven target prioritization works — from a hypothesis in 2019 to a Phase 1 clinical program in 2026.

Lead program · VB-23

First disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson's disease

VB-23 is a best-in-class USP30 inhibitor — oral, brain-penetrant, non-covalent, with sub-10 nM potency and over 1000-fold selectivity. GLP toxicology studies are underway. IND-ready 2026. No disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson's currently exists.

Visit Vincere Biosciences →

What's next

A new frontier in AI-assisted biology

Vincere validated the platform. We're now exploring the next generation — pushing AI deeper into drug discovery, target identification, and scientific reasoning at the intersection of aging and disease.

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Target identification at scale

Applying computational simulation to surface high-confidence drug targets across aging biology — beyond mitophagy, beyond neurodegeneration.

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AI-native operations

We have run lean and AI-first since 2014. From discovery to business development, AI is woven into how we operate — not as a tool layer, but as infrastructure.

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Multi-indication expansion

USP30 inhibition shows efficacy across neurodegeneration, cardiorenal disease, and metabolic aging. We are mapping the full scope of the opportunity.


The team

A few people and an army of bots

Built small by design.
Running big by architecture.

NeuroInitiative has operated for over a decade at the intersection of deep science and advanced computation. We are not a large organization. We are a deliberately lean one — two founders, a world-class scientific advisory network, and an expanding system of AI tools that multiply what a small team can discover, build, and accomplish. That model is becoming easier to understand today. We've been living it since 2014.

Spring Behrouz, PhD Co-Founder · CEO, Vincere Biosciences
Andy Lee Co-Founder · CBO, Vincere Biosciences