Absentia Labs

Absentia Labs

AI-driven whole-organism modeling for drug safety

Overview

Absentia Labs builds an AI-driven, organism-wide modeling platform that helps biotech and pharmaceutical teams assess drug safety and translational risk early in development. Its core AI-native engine combines biological, chemical, and assay data to simulate how a drug behaves in the body across whole organs, predicting efficacy and safety issues before preclinical tests. By focusing on organ-specific risks like liver, heart, and kidney liabilities, the platform aims to identify problem candidates early and guide which drugs to advance. This approach is designed to reduce late-stage failures and speed up the process of bringing medicines to the clinic, offering a more ethical and cost-effective alternative to traditional animal testing. Absentia Labs positions itself as the intelligence layer for molecular medicine, working with universities and biopharma partners to standardize and accelerate drug discovery and development.

About Absentia Labs

Simplify's Rating
Why Absentia Labs is rated
B-
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Data & Analytics

AI & Machine Learning

Biotechnology

Company Size

N/A

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Somerville, Massachusetts

Founded

2024

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Absentia won FDA precisionFDA hepatotoxicity challenge in July 2026.
  • ISTAND recognition opens regulatory conversations with pharma using AI safety evidence.
  • If qualified, developers can reuse the model across IND packages without revalidating it.

What critics are saying

  • FDA acceptance at Letter of Intent is only the first qualification stage.
  • Digital Liver Model covers DILI only; efficacy and renal predictions remain unproven.
  • Insilico, Recursion, and pharma internal teams intensify competition before 2028 procurement cycles.

What makes Absentia Labs unique

  • Absentia Labs became the first AI DDT accepted into FDA ISTAND in July 2026.
  • Its Digital Liver Model combines mechanistic biology, assay data, and response histories.
  • The platform targets organism-wide safety prediction, starting with liver, cardiac, and kidney liabilities.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours

Hybrid Work Options

Remote Work Options

Company Equity

Company News

Associated Press
Jul 7th, 2026
Absentia Labs' AI liver model becomes first artificial intelligence drug development tool accepted into FDA qualification program

Absentia Labs, a Boston-based biotech startup founded in 2024, has become the first company to have an AI-driven drug development tool accepted into the FDA's qualification programme. The company's Digital Liver Model, designed to predict drug-induced liver injury, entered the FDA's ISTAND pathway—a historic milestone for AI-based safety assessment tools. The startup was co-founded by MIT-trained scientists Farhan Khodaee and Rohola Zandie, alongside Robert Betancort. Their AI platform combines mechanistic biology with drug-response data to help pharmaceutical companies assess liver injury risk before human trials begin. Drug-induced liver injury is a leading cause of clinical trial failure. Absentia's model addresses gaps in traditional animal testing by capturing the complexity of human liver response, including metabolism, genetics and immune factors.

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