Insilico Announces Collaboration with SK Biopharmaceutical for AI-Powered CNS Treatment

Insilico Medicine entered into a researched and development collaboration with SK Biopharmaceuticals. The partnership will focus on the discovery of AI-enabled drug candidates in the neuroimmune area of the central nervous system (CNS).¹

In a press release, SK Biopharmaceuticals president and CEO Donghoon Lee said, “This collaboration represents an important milestone in expanding our growth beyond epilepsy into new CNS therapeutic areas, building on the deep CNS expertise we have established through the successful development and commercialization of Cenobamate. By combining Insilico's AI-powered drug discovery platform with SK Biopharmaceuticals' clinical development and U.S. commercialization capabilities, we believe we can accelerate the discovery of innovative CNS therapies for patients. Beyond a single program, we see this collaboration as a scalable and repeatable growth platform that can be leveraged for future target discovery and development opportunities."

Insilico is a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence drug discovery company. The collaboration will involve using Insilico’s Pharma.AI platform to create potential drug candidates, which will be handed over to SK Biopharmaceuticals for the late-stage development and commercialization stages.

"We are delighted to announce this great news at the 2026 BIO International Convention, which underscores the tremendous power of industry communication and collaboration in accelerating progress in healthcare," said Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, founder, co-CEO, and CBO of Insilico Medicine. "SK Biopharmaceuticals is a visionary partner, merging global leadership and commercialization expertise with a forward-thinking embrace of AI. By uniting Insilico's AI-driven target-to-candidate engine with SK Biopharmaceuticals' deep CNS mastery, we aim to unlock breakthrough therapies, spanning both traditional small molecules and advanced new modalities, to address critical patient needs."

Insilico has previously worked with pharma and biotech companies in similar partnerships. Earlier this month, the company announced that its collaboration with Hygtia Therapeutics had resulted in the first in-human dosing in a Phase 1 study of ISM8969, a potential treatment for neuroinflammation and CNS disorders.²

In a press release issued at the time, Insilico Medicine’s co-CEO and chief scientific officer Feng Ren, PhD, said, “Advancing ISM8969 from an AI-generated concept to first-in-human dosing is a major step forward, as well as the first clinical milestone in our collaboration with Hygtia Therapeutics. Developing an effective NLRP3 inhibitor that can safely penetrate the blood-brain barrier has long been a challenge for the industry. Leveraging Chemistry42, we precisely optimized the molecule to deliver strong preclinical efficacy and favorable permeability. We look forward to evaluating its translational potential in this Phase 1 trial and to continuing our close collaboration with Hygtia to advance innovative neuroscience therapies for patients worldwide."

Insilico also announced a collaboration with Human Life Foundation Models, Inc. to produce AI-developed projects in the human-longevity space.³

In a press release from May, Zhavoronkov said, “By combining Insilico's expertise in generative AI drug discovery and multimodal foundation models with HLFM's unique datasets, and conducting rigorous model training and benchmark evaluation under the advanced MMAI Gym framework, we aim to build a next-generation AI system capable of decoding the biology of aging. Human longevity and healthspan represent one of the most complex challenges in biology. This collaboration is about creating a true foundation model for human health that can identify disease risks earlier, uncover novel therapeutic targets, and accelerate the discovery of longevity therapeutics with unprecedented precision."

Human Longevity executive chairman Wei-Wu He added, “Human Longevity was founded with the vision that large-scale biological data combined with artificial intelligence would fundamentally transform medicine. By having HLFM partnering with Insilico Medicine to build the human life foundation models, we are taking a major step toward creating a true foundation model for human health and longevity—one that can help predict complex disease decades before it occurs and guide interventions to extend healthy lifespan."

Sources

1. Insilico Medicine And SK Biopharmaceuticals Achieved AI-powered Drug Discovery Collaboration Worth Up to 2.5 Billion for Neuroimmune Disorders. Insilico Medicine. June 22, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insilico-medicine-and-sk-biopharmaceuticals-achieved-ai-powered-drug-discovery-collaboration-worth-up-to-2-5-billion-for-neuroimmune-disorders-302806072.html
2. Insilico Completes First-in-Human Dosing in Phase I Clinical Study of AI-Driven NLRP3 Inhibitor ISM8969, Achieving First Clinical Milestone in Collaboration with Hygtia Therapeutics. Insilico Medicine. June 17, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insilico-completes-first-in-human-dosing-in-phase-i-clinical-study-of-ai-driven-nlrp3-inhibitor-ism8969-achieving-first-clinical-milestone-in-collaboration-with-hygtia-therapeutics-302802955.html
3. Insilico Medicine and Human Longevity Announce Collaboration to Co-Develop Industry-First AI Foundation Model for Longevity Science. Insilico Medicine. May 26, 2026. Accessed June 22, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insilico-medicine-and-human-longevity-announce-collaboration-to-co-develop-industry-first-ai-foundation-model-for-longevity-science-302781904.html