The Takeda-Iambic AI drug discovery collaboration will initially focus on projects in oncology and gastrointestinal therapeutic area, as well as that of inflammation. Through this arrangement, Takeda will gain access to Iambic’s model for predicting protein-ligand complexes, NeuralPLexer.
The partnership aims to advance several high-priority small molecule programmes using Iambic’s AI models and automated wet lab capabilities. Under the deal, Iambic will be eligible for upfront payments, research cost contributions, technology access fees, success-based payments potentially exceeding $1.7bn, plus royalties on net sales of any resulting products.
Iambic co-founder and CEO Tom Miller said: “Our collaboration with Takeda is a powerful opportunity to apply our AI-driven discovery and development platform, and we are excited to partner with their team to quickly advance new and better drug candidates.
“This collaboration further validates our industry-leading technology and highlights both the breadth of our discovery capabilities and the scale at which we can operate.”
Takeda chief scientific officer and research head Chris Arendt said: “We are excited to be able access Iambic’s proprietary computational platform while we work with their team to develop small molecule therapeutics with the potential to address critical unmet patient needs.
“At Takeda, our focus is on accelerating the development of impactful new medicines by leveraging cutting-edge science, including the latest advances in artificial intelligence. Iambic’s small molecule platform aligns with this ambition and offers the potential to de-risk candidate selection, improve the probability of success, and more quickly advance select programmes from early project start to IND [investigational new drug].”
Last month, Takeda announced a global collaboration and licence agreement with Halozyme to continue advancing vedolizumab with the latter’s Enhanze drug delivery technology.