Takeda Strengthens AI Drug Discovery Strategy in $1.7B Deal

Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical is making a bold leap into AI drug discovery with a new multi-year deal worth up to $1.7 billion with U.S. biotech Iambic, announced today.

The agreement will rely on the state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools of Iambic to plan and create small-molecule medicines, particularly those in the domains of cancer and GI diseases.

Based on the terms, Iambic will receive upfront payments and continued research assistance with several possibilities of earning in excess of 1.7 billion in milestones and royalties in the event of the future drug candidates being successful.

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The center of the collaboration is the AI model of Iambic, NeuralPLexer, that predicts engagement of drug molecules with proteins. This is among the key capabilities of the efficient drug design and would greatly accelerate early discovery studies. The current process of small-molecule drug discovery can require six or more years to reach clinical trials but with AI predictions and automated laboratories, the companies claimed, it can take less than two years.

Iambic Chief Executive Tom Miller highlighted the challenge drugmakers face without deep structural insight, saying, “If you don’t know the shape of what you’re trying to engage … it’s a lot like trying to make a sculpture in the dark.” Takeda’s Chief Scientific Officer Christopher Arendt added that while speed is crucial, improving the quality of molecules is equally important in developing therapies that work.

This latest pact builds on Takeda’s broader push to embed AI across research, following previous collaborations with other biotech firms. The deal reflects a growing industry shift toward AI-assisted drug research that promises faster results, lower costs, and more innovative treatments.