Elix, Inc. (CEO: Shinya Yuki / Headquarters: Tokyo; hereinafter “Elix”) is pleased to announce that its AI drug discovery platform, Elix Discovery™ (https://www.elix-inc.com/platform/), has been adopted by Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo; hereinafter “Eisai”).
Traditional drug discovery involves identifying promising compounds from vast numbers of candidates, which leads to long development timelines, high costs, and low success rates—major challenges in pharmaceutical R&D. The application of AI technologies to drug discovery is expected to address these challenges and dramatically improve the efficiency of the process. In particular, AI-driven molecular design and profile prediction enable efficient design of promising drug candidate compounds and narrowing down synthesis and evaluation targets, thereby accelerating the entire discovery process.
Elix is a Japan-based AI drug discovery company with a mission to “Rethinking drug discovery,” providing services to pharmaceutical companies, universities, research institutions, and biotech startups. Our flagship AI software platform, Elix Discovery™, launched in 2022, was developed under the concept of “truly usable by medicinal chemists.” *¹
Elix Discovery™ features an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that enables automatic construction of optimal compound profile predictive models. It includes advanced structure generation capabilities with the strength of proposing molecular structures that “humans would not conceive.” The platform allows for fast compound design by optimizing various parameters, including predictive models created on the GUI, through the use of carefully selected generative models including Elix’s proprietary models. It also supports Ligand-Based Drug Design (LBDD) and Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) methods, including docking simulations, offering users the flexibility to test a wide range of approaches.
In addition to providing this platform, Elix aims to contribute to the creation of innovative drug candidates through joint research projects with partner companies, leveraging its extensive experience and expertise in combination with the latest AI technologies. *2 Notably, Elix Discovery™ offers plans that include multiple AI models trained using data from 16 pharmaceutical companies. For details, please refer to the July 15, 2025 press release. *³
Comment from Taro Terauchi, Head of Integrated Chemistry, Eisai
Eisai has been working to integrate the small-molecule drug-discovery expertise we have cultivated over many years with cutting-edge AI technology. 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.
Comment from Shinya Yuki, CEO of Elix
We are honored that Eisai, one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies, has adopted our AI drug discovery platform, Elix Discovery™. 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.
References:
*¹ July 15, 2022 press release: “Elix launches “Elix Discovery™,” the only all-in-one platform that provides everything needed for AI drug discovery, from models for property prediction and molecular design to AI consulting and implementation support”
URL: https://www.elix-inc.com/news/newsrelease/1620/
*² April 15, 2025 press release: “Elix and PRISM BioLab Join Forces to Accelerate AI-Driven Drug Discovery for Challenging Protein-Protein Interaction Targets”
URL: https://www.elix-inc.com/news/news-release/2117/
*³ July 15, 2025 press release: “Elix and LINC Become the First in the World to Commercialize an AI Drug Discovery Platform Incorporating Federated Learning-Based AI Models Trained on Data from 16 Pharmaceutical Companies”
URL: https://www.elix-inc.com/news/news-release/2166/