Insilico Medicine has reduced the time needed to produce some drug development candidates to about one year by combining artificial intelligence with laboratory research in China, according to CEO Alex Zhavoronkov.
The Hong Kong-listed company’s fastest programme reached candidate nomination in nine months, while its typical timeline is about 13 months, Zhavoronkov said. He said conventional approaches usually take about four-and-a-half years to reach the same stage.
The timeline covers early discovery and candidate selection, rather than the full process of bringing a drug to market. Clinical trials, manufacturing, and regulatory review remain separate stages.
AI shortens candidate selection
Insilico uses generative AI to identify biological targets, design potential drug molecules, and assess which compounds should advance to laboratory testing.
The company said its programmes typically reach preclinical-candidate nomination within 12 to 18 months after researchers synthesise and test between 60 and 200 molecules. Its workflow combines AI-generated designs with researcher review and experimental validation.
Laboratory experiments remain necessary to confirm the biological activity and drug properties of compounds selected by the models. Insilico said its AI-supported process allows teams to reach candidate nomination after testing a smaller set of synthesised molecules, although it has not provided a direct comparison with equivalent programmes developed without AI.
Insilico said it has generated 31 preclinical candidates since 2021. Thirteen programmes have received investigational new drug clearances, allowing them to advance towards human studies, according to the company’s pipeline disclosures.
The company conducts AI research in Montreal and Abu Dhabi, while much of its experimental validation and laboratory scale-up work takes place in China. Its Shanghai facility has automated parts of biological sampling and compound screening.
Teams outside China develop and evaluate the company’s AI models, while researchers in Shanghai handle biological testing, screening, and scale-up.
Zhavoronkov attributed part of the shorter development cycle to China’s research infrastructure, operating costs, and regulatory environment. He said pharmaceutical companies with research laboratories in China can remove about two years from traditional candidate-development timelines.
China has expanded beyond manufacturing generic drug ingredients and now plays a larger role in developing new medicines. International drugmakers also work with Chinese laboratories, contract research organisations, clinical-trial centres, and biotechnology companies.
A Pfizer executive said clinical development in China could be conducted three times faster and at about half the cost of equivalent work in Europe. Drug candidates typically take five to seven years to reach the Chinese market, compared with at least eight to 10 years in Western markets, according to Reuters.
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