AbbVie and clinical-stage biotech and technology company Iambic are joining forces in a multi-year collaboration aimed at using artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery and development of small-molecule medicines.

 

The partnership will apply Iambic’s AI platform across immunology, neuroscience and oncology, with the companies targeting drug candidates that could have first-in-class or best-in-class potential.

 

At the center of the collaboration is Iambic’s molecular superintelligence platform, which combines AI with automated chemistry and biology experimentation. The companies say the technology is designed to improve the efficiency of identifying promising drug candidates while reducing the time required for discovery.

 

"We are excited about the purpose-built AI capabilities Iambic is bringing to our Discovery scientists," said Nicholas Donoghoe, executive vice president and chief business and strategy officer, AbbVie. 

 

"We believe AI will be a powerful catalyst for scientific innovation across AbbVie. By equipping our teams with fit-for-purpose AI solutions, we can accelerate discovery, expand what is possible in R&D and significantly advance our commitment to making a remarkable impact for patients."

 

The collaboration comes as drug developers increasingly turn to AI to tackle the complexity and cost of traditional discovery. Scientists typically assess dozens of properties for potential molecules, often evaluating them individually. Iambic’s platform is designed to optimize multiple properties simultaneously.

 

"We are eager to bring Iambic's molecular superintelligence platform to bear alongside AbbVie's world-class team to address unmet patient need. We anticipate an impactful collaboration — for Iambic, for AbbVie, and for the patients we serve."

 

The partnership will use Enchant v3, Iambic’s next-generation multimodal transformer model. The system combines biomedical data from across the drug discovery process and is designed to allow multiple drug-design hypotheses to be tested in parallel and at scale.

 

Iambic says Enchant v3 is trained on more than 6,000 molecular properties and is designed to improve prediction accuracy across drug discovery and development.

 

"Combining Iambic's platform with the drug-hunting expertise of AbbVie scientists can help us make more precise decisions about the molecules we pursue," said Jonathon Sedgwick, senior vice president and global head of discovery research, AbbVie. 

 

"The goal of our collaboration with Iambic is to design better molecules more efficiently and improve our probability of success, ultimately to deliver breakthrough medicines for patients sooner."

 

The financial terms include an upfront payment to Iambic, along with eligibility for success-based milestone payments and tiered royalties on net sales of products generated through the collaboration.

 

Tom Miller, co-founder and CEO of Iambic, said the partnership combines the company's AI technology with AbbVie's drug-discovery expertise.

 

"Iambic's mission is to make better technology for better medicines — in our own hands and with partners," said Tom Miller, Co-Founder and CEO, Iambic. "We are eager to bring Iambic's molecular superintelligence platform to bear alongside AbbVie's world-class team to address unmet patient need. We anticipate an impactful collaboration — for Iambic, for AbbVie, and for the patients we serve."

 

The deal expands AbbVie’s broader AI@AbbVie initiative, through which the company is applying artificial intelligence across research and development, operations and other business functions. AbbVie says AI is intended to enhance productivity, strengthen decision-making and accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of medicines.

 

Iambic says its platform has already been used to discover a novel drug candidate that advanced into clinical development in approximately two years, alongside a broader preclinical pipeline.

 

The companies did not disclose the potential value of the collaboration, including the size of Iambic’s upfront payment or the milestone amounts.