Xeureka and Sumitomo Pharma Conclude Joint Research Agreement on Small Molecule Drug Discovery
Xeureka and Sumitomo Pharma have signed a joint research agreement for small molecule drug discovery, leveraging Xeureka's advanced computational drug discovery technologies.
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- 📰 Published: April 3, 2026 at 00:00
Xeureka Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Taisei Nagae; hereinafter "Xeureka") has concluded a joint research agreement with Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (Osaka; President: Toru Kimura; hereinafter "Sumitomo Pharma") concerning small molecule drug discovery.
In this joint research, both companies will aim to create novel drug candidate compounds by designing and evaluating new small molecule compounds for targets identified by Sumitomo Pharma, according to their respective roles.
Xeureka will promote this joint research by utilizing its advanced computational drug discovery technologies, including its self-developed Free Energy Perturbation* program "Xeureka FEP" and molecular generation tool "XE-Generator**".
Based on its large-scale supercomputer and proprietary computational drug discovery technologies, Xeureka provides drug discovery support services that leverage diverse computational methods such as AI and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. Xeureka will continue to meet the wide-ranging needs of pharmaceutical and biotech companies, contributing to significant efficiency improvements and success rate enhancements in drug discovery research.
* Free Energy Perturbation: A statistical mechanics-based method for calculating the free energy change associated with ligand-protein binding, and one of the means to predict activity with high accuracy.
**XE-Generator: A molecular generation tool independently developed by Xeureka. In addition to common methods such as Matched Molecular Pair (MMP)-based structural transformation, bioisosteric substitution, and reaction-based molecular generation, it features over 6,000 structural transformation rules meticulously built by experienced medicinal chemists based on their knowledge and experience gained in drug discovery settings. This enables the comprehensive generation of thousands to tens of thousands of practical compound structures starting from an input structure.
【About Xeureka Inc.】
Location: 3-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Taisei Nagae
Established: November 2021
Shareholder: Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (100%)
Business Activities: Providing AI drug discovery support services and computational environments (supercomputers) to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and promoting collaborative research and development for drug discovery.
【About Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.】
Location: 2-6-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Representative: Toru Kimura
Established: May 1897
Business Activities: Manufacturing and sales of ethical pharmaceuticals, etc.
FAQ
What is the purpose of the joint research between Xeureka and Sumitomo Pharma?
The aim is to design and evaluate new small molecule compounds for targets identified by Sumitomo Pharma, with the goal of creating novel drug candidates.
What technologies does Xeureka provide?
Xeureka provides advanced computational drug discovery technologies, including its proprietary Free Energy Perturbation program "Xeureka FEP" and molecular generation tool "XE-Generator".
What impact will this partnership have on the pharmaceutical industry?
It is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI and computational drug discovery technologies, contributing to increased efficiency and success rates in new drug development, and bringing more innovative medicines to market.