Cambridge, MA, Mar 3, 2025 --- Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), a clinical stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biotechnology company, and Tenacia Biotechnology (“Tenacia”), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative treatments for nervous system disorders, today announced a strategic research collaboration. Focused on certain potential targets, Insilico and Tenacia will collaborate during the early discovery stage of novel Central Nervous System (CNS) disease therapies, developing small molecule inhibitors from scratch to preclinical candidate nomination.
The collaboration will combine Insilico’s Pharma.AI—a cutting-edge generative AI-based drug discovery platform—and its extensive research and development expertise with Tenacia’s specialized scientific and clinical knowledge. The joint effort will focus on creating transformative treatments for Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders, with a particular emphasis on developing blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetrable small molecule inhibitors. By leveraging advanced AI technologies, the partnership seeks to expand therapeutic options and enhance outcomes for patients worldwide.
Tenacia is a biotechnology, renowned for its specialized expertise in CNS drug development. With a deep understanding of complex biological pathways and a strong emphasis on target biology, the company is uniquely positioned to deliver transformative solutions and has proven success in fostering research collaborations and advancing scientific discoveries into innovative therapies.
Insilico first described the concept of using generative AI for the design of novel molecules in a peer-reviewed journal in 2016, then continued to develop the commercially available Pharma.AI platform, which powered the wholly owned pipeline of 30 assets established since 2021, with 10 having received IND clearance, setting a benchmark for AI-driven drug discovery and development. CNS is one of the key disease areas Insilico focuses on.
“With multiple pipelines already in the clinical stage, we hope to further expand our CNS-focused therapeutics portfolio and look forward to benefitting from our collaboration with Insilico Medicine,” said Xiaoxiang Chen, MD, Founder and CEO of Tenacia. “By combining Insilico's revolutionary AI-driven platform with Tenacia's deep expertise in CNS biology and clinical development, we anticipate being able to contribute even more to the shift of treatment paradigm.”
“This collaboration represents the next step in demonstrating the transformative power of AI in drug discovery,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. “By partnering with Tenacia, we are showcasing how targeted expertise, driven by generative AI, can unlock new solutions for CNS diseases, especially in overcoming the challenge of crossing the blood-brain barrier.”
Recently, Insilico announced the nomination of ISM8969, a BBB penetrable NLRP3 inhibitor against inflammation-related diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy, further enhancing Insilico’s portfolio against CNS disorders and aging-related diseases. By integrating cutting-edge AI and automation technologies, Insilico has achieved significant efficiency gains compared to traditional drug discovery methods, which typically take 2.5–4 years. As announced in recent key timeline benchmarks for its internal drug candidate (DC) programs from 2021 to 2024, Insilico has demonstrated remarkable performance, with an average timeline to DC of just 12–18 months, 60–200 molecules synthesized and tested per program, and a 100% success rate in advancing from DC to the IND-enabling stage.
In early 2024, Insilico published a Nature Biotechnology paper presenting the entire R&D journey from AI algorithms to Phase II clinical trials of ISM001-055, the company's lead drug pipeline with AI-discovered target and AI-designed structure. Following that, Insilico has recently announced positive preliminary results from a Phase IIa trial (NCT05938920), where ISM001-055 showed favorable safety and tolerability across all dose levels, as well as dose-dependent response in forced vital capacity (FVC), after only 12 weeks of dosage.
About Insilico Medicine
Insilico Medicine, a global clinical stage biotechnology company powered by generative AI, is connecting biology, chemistry, medicine and science research using next-generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging-related diseases.
About Tenacia Biotechnology
Founded in 2022 by Bain Capital, Tenacia is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative therapeutics for patients with underserved neurological disorders. Tenacia's seasoned management team brings decades of drug development experience from both MNCs and biotechs. Their deep understanding of complex disease biology and insights into unmet patient needs enable Tenacia to create a highly efficient neuroscience R&D platform with a proven track record of advancing novel therapies. Empowered by its founder and strategic investor, Bain Capital—through significant initial investment, long-term commitment and extensive life science network—Tenacia is poised to become a leading neuroscience company in China and deliver substantial value to shareholders while upholding an unwavering commitment to the patients.