Privately held biotechnology company Iambic Therapeutics announced on Monday that it has entered into a multiyear partnership with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical aimed at applying artificial intelligence to the discovery of small-molecule drugs. The collaboration will focus on programs in cancer and gastrointestinal diseases and carries a total potential value of more than $1.7 billion. Financial terms include upfront payments, research funding, access to technology, development and commercial milestone payments, and royalties on future product sales.
Under the agreement, Takeda will be able to use Iambic’s artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery platforms as part of its internal research efforts. This includes access to NeuralPLexer, Iambic’s generative model designed to predict how small-molecule drug candidates bind to protein targets. The companies did not disclose specific figures related to upfront payments or research cost allocations, though Iambic stated that milestone payments alone could exceed $1.7 billion.
Iambic Chief Executive Officer Tom Miller said that understanding protein structure is a fundamental requirement in drug development. He has also explained that traditional drug discovery processes typically take around six years before a compound is advanced into clinical trials.
According to Iambic, its approach integrates artificial intelligence predictions with automated laboratory systems to shorten development timelines. The company has said this method can reduce the time required to move a compound toward clinical testing to less than two years. Miller has stated that artificial intelligence tools can save months of laboratory work and allow researchers to pursue drug candidates that would otherwise be difficult to identify using conventional methods.
Takeda Chief Scientific Officer Christopher Arendt said the use of artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly shorten research timelines. He has emphasized that while speed is an important benefit, molecular quality remains a central consideration when developing small-molecule therapies. Arendt has noted that incorporating artificial intelligence into drug discovery efforts allows researchers to move faster without losing focus on quality.
Work under the collaboration will begin in oncology, gastrointestinal, and inflammation therapeutic areas. The agreement licenses both software tools and drug discovery platforms, which are designed to support a rapid design-make-test-analyze cycle. Iambic has said this structure is intended to accelerate drug development by identifying novel chemical modalities for challenging biological targets.
The partnership represents one of the largest artificial intelligence-focused drug discovery deals to date. It adds to Iambic’s existing roster of pharmaceutical partners, which includes Revolution Medicines, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Lundbeck. Alongside its collaborations, Iambic continues to advance its internal pipeline. Its most advanced wholly owned asset, the oral oncology candidate IAM1363, reported early-phase clinical data last fall prior to the company’s $100 million fundraising round completed in November.
The Iambic deal follows other artificial intelligence initiatives at Takeda. Last year, the company entered into a separate agreement with Nabla Bio focused on protein-based drug discovery. Takeda has said these partnerships are part of a broader effort to embed artificial intelligence across its research operations.
The collaboration also comes after Takeda announced changes to its research strategy in 2024. The company reduced its focus from 10 therapeutic modalities to four: small molecules, biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and allogeneic cell therapies. Later in the year, Takeda exited cell therapy altogether, a decision that resulted in 140 layoffs.
Iambic and Takeda Enter $1.7B AI Drug Discovery Partnership
Iambic has announced a landmark multiyear collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in a deal valued at over $1.7 billion. The partnership positions Iambic as a leading force in AI-driven drug discovery while expanding Takeda’s innovative pipeline through advanced artificial intelligence platforms.
Iambic and Takeda Target High-Value Therapeutic Areas
The collaboration will focus on multiple disease areas aligned with Takeda’s strategic priorities, including oncology, neuroscience, and rare diseases. These therapeutic categories often involve complex biological mechanisms, making them ideal candidates for AI-enhanced research approaches.
Through this agreement, the AI platform will generate optimized molecular structures, evaluate drug-like properties, and prioritize promising compounds for further development. The integration of physics-based simulations with large-scale biological datasets is expected to significantly improve precision in early-stage research.
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