Prism and Elix launch AI-driven drug discovery partnership

Japanese biotech Prism BioLab has entered a strategic partnership with AI drug discovery company Elix to accelerate the development of small molecule therapies for difficult-to-treat diseases.

The alliance, which began in early April, brings together Prism BioLab’s PepMetics platform with Elix’s AI technology. By applying machine learning to identify peptide-mimetic compounds that target protein-protein interactions - a class of targets long considered challenging - the collaboration aims to speed up candidate selection and reduce discovery costs.

The companies say the integration of their technologies expands the search space to include previously overlooked chemical matter. Scientists say this could improve success rates in identifying candidates for diseases with limited treatment options.