Tabula Bioscience disputes credit in Radical Numerics phage AI work

In short: A former partner says it should be credited for key work behind Radical Numerics’ AI-designed phage treatment, and the disagreement is spilling into public view.

What happened

Tabula Bioscience, a former research partner, says it played a major role in the work behind Radical Numerics’ widely discussed phage treatment designed with AI. Radical Numerics’ CEO confirmed there was a collaboration, but the company’s original announcement did not credit Tabula, according to The New York Times.

The dispute has also led geneticist George Church to resign from Radical Numerics’ board, the report says. Board members help guide a company, and resignations can signal serious internal disagreement.

The treatment uses bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria (think of them as bacteria’s natural predators). Radical Numerics said its Omnii-1 AI model helped design a “cocktail” of these phages, and that the phages killed bacteria taken from the patient in lab tests. The treatment was given under “compassionate use,” which is a special pathway to try an unapproved treatment when someone is very sick and options are limited.

Why it matters

There are two separate questions here. One is whether the treatment actually helped the patient, since killing bacteria in a lab does not prove it worked inside a person, and Radical Numerics has not shared the patient’s clinical outcome. The other is who deserves credit, which matters for trust, future partnerships, and who benefits if the approach eventually becomes a real medical product.

Source: NYTimes