Feb 9 (Reuters) - Privately held Iambic said on Monday it has entered a multi-year partnership worth more than $1.7 billion with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical to use artificial intelligence to help design small-molecule drugs targeting cancer and gastrointestinal diseases.
Under the agreement, Iambic will receive upfront payments and could earn more than $1.7 billion in development and commercial milestones, plus royalties on sales.
The deal marks Takeda's latest move to embed artificial intelligence across its research operations, following a similar agreement with Nabla Bio last year focused on protein-based drugs.
Drug developers are increasingly turning to AI technologies to speed up discovery and cut costs, with experts predicting timelines could be halved in coming years.
Takeda will also gain access to NeuralPLexer, Iambic's model that predicts how drug molecules bind to proteins.
Iambic Chief Executive Tom Miller told Reuters that understanding protein structure is critical in drug development.
"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," he said.
Traditional drug discovery can take around six years before a compound reaches clinical trials.
Iambic said its approach, combining AI predictions with automated laboratories, can compress that timeline to less than two years.
Takeda Chief Scientific Officer Christopher Arendt said the technology could significantly shorten research timelines, though speed is only part of the appeal.
"When you start to add an AI engine to your small‑molecule drug development, it means you can go faster," Arendt said in an interview, adding that molecular quality is equally critical.
Miller said AI tools can save months of traditional lab work, but "the most important thing is creating something that couldn't have been done before."
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
