Isomorphic Labs says it will start human trials of AI-designed drugs

In short: Isomorphic Labs says it is preparing to begin human trials of drugs designed with its AI tools.

What happened

Isomorphic Labs, a UK biotech company created from Google DeepMind, said it is getting ready to test some of its AI-designed drugs in people. Company president Max Jaderberg shared the update on April 16 at WIRED Health in London.

Jaderberg did not give a specific date. The timing appears later than an earlier public target. In 2025, CEO Demis Hassabis said the company expected to have AI-designed drugs in clinical trials by the end of 2025.

Isomorphic Labs builds on DeepMind’s AlphaFold, a system that predicts the shapes of proteins. Proteins are tiny working parts inside living things. Their shape matters because drugs often work by sticking to a protein in the right place, like a key fitting a lock.

DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs released AlphaFold 3 in 2024, which also models how proteins interact with other molecules like DNA and RNA. Isomorphic also recently described a newer in-house tool called IsoDDE, which it says improves accuracy compared with AlphaFold 3.

The company has partnerships with Eli Lilly and Novartis, and it says it is developing its own potential medicines in cancer and immune system diseases. Isomorphic raised $600 million in its first funding round and has been building a clinical development team.

Why it matters

Human trials are a major reality check. Many drug ideas that look good on a computer or in a lab do not work well or safely in real people. If these trials succeed, it could mean faster and more targeted ways to design medicines, but the results will only be clear after testing.

Source: Wired