TOKYO — Elix, Inc., a Tokyo-based AI drug discovery company, announced that its flagship platform, Elix Discovery™, has been adopted by Eisai Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies. The partnership aims to accelerate and modernize Eisai’s small-molecule drug discovery efforts by integrating Elix’s advanced AI technologies into the research process.
Elix Discovery™ is an AI-powered drug discovery platform launched in 2022 with the goal of being “truly usable by medicinal chemists.” It features an intuitive graphical user interface that allows researchers to automatically build compound profile predictive models and design novel molecular structures that might not be conceived through conventional approaches. The platform leverages proprietary generative models to streamline compound design and supports both Ligand-Based and Structure-Based Drug Design, including docking simulations. These capabilities are designed to reduce development timelines, lower costs, and improve success rates—longstanding challenges in pharmaceutical R&D.
“Eisai has been working to integrate the small-molecule drug-discovery expertise we have cultivated over many years with cutting-edge AI technology,” said Taro Terauchi, Head of Integrated Chemistry at Eisai. “We expect that the introduction of Elix Discovery™ will further accelerate this integration and drive major innovation in the drug-discovery process. Going forward, we will continue to advance AI-powered molecular design to deliver even greater value to patients.”
Elix aims to revolutionize the drug discovery landscape by partnering with pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and biotech startups. The company not only provides access to its platform but also engages in collaborative research projects that combine its AI expertise with its partners’ therapeutic insights. Notably, Elix Discovery™ includes multiple AI models trained using data from 16 pharmaceutical companies, offering a robust and customizable toolset for diverse discovery needs.
“We are honored that Eisai, one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies, has adopted our AI drug discovery platform, Elix Discovery™,” said Shinya Yuki, CEO of Elix. “Designed from the outset to maximize researchers’ capabilities on the concept that ‘medicinal chemists can truly use it,’ we believe that the combination of our cutting-edge AI technology with Eisai’s extensive drug discovery expertise and exceptional research capabilities will accelerate the creation of innovative new medicines. We look forward to collaborating with Eisai to shape the future of drug discovery together.”
