FDA Greenlights New AI Virus Treatment For Trial, Company Says

Officials at an artificial intelligence research company shared that the Food and Drug Administration approved experimental trials to treat patients with AI-created viruses.

AI start-up Radical Numerics posted a technical report on Tuesday indicating they are utilizing its research to not only design specialized bacterium viruses with AI but also use them to treat patients, with the goal of taking the process mainstream. The FDA approved this methodology and authorized the trials, company officials told the New York Times the same day.

The FDA did not provide the DCNF with comment on the record in time for publication. Radical Numerics did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Founded in 2025, Radical Numerics is the home and laboratory for Omnii — a genome language AI model focused on building general biological intelligence. Instead of working with computer code, Omnii works across molecular landscapes including DNA, RNA, proteins and cellular systems, according to the company’s website.

A team of researchers for Radical Numerics personalized and administered the AI designed virus, modeled after a naturally occurring virus called a “phage,” to a patient suffering from a deadly bacterial infection, the Times reported.

Phages are found in all microbial ecosystems including oceans, soil, and the human gut microbiome, the report from Radical Numerics said, calling the phage “bacteria’s natural enemy.” By personalizing phage viruses to match an individual’s bacteria infection, the company developed a treatment “therapy,” to solve and combat illness.