Japanese pharmaceutical major Takeda is forging an AI drug-discovery partnership with biotech firm InSilico with a potential initial value of $600.0 million, people familiar with the matter say.

According to the people, Takeda is set to pay InSilico to use its proprietary Pharma.AI platform to advance drug candidates across several therapeutic areas. InSilico will lead the drug discovery process while Takeda will further develop, including advancing them to past clinical trials, they added.

Hong Kong-listed InSilico is set to receive an initial $60 million in project initiation fees and near-term payments, and is eligible for milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on future sales, the people said. Takeda will be granted exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize the new drugs.

Multinational drugmakers have been lining up to tap the capabilities of fast-growing biopharma companies with research expertise and assets in China. Late last year, Takeda struck a cancer-drug licensing deal with Chinese biopharma firm Innovent Biologics for up to $11.4 billion.

A Takeda tie-up would also add to a string of collaborations that InSilico has struck this year, including a licensing deal with Eli Lilly worth up to $2.75 billion in March, as well as a similar AI-driven drug discovery partnership last week worth up to $2.5 billion with SK Biopharmaceuticals.

InSilico is seeking to focus on longevity treatments and hopes to develop a "god-like drug" that can extend human lifespan, its chief executive officer, Alex Zhavoronkov, said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The AI drugmaker, based in Boston, manufactures drugs in China and develops its AI models in the United Arab Emirates and Canada.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2026 19:30 ET (23:30 GMT)

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