Elix Provides AI Drug Discovery Platform “Elix Discovery™” to Eisai

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 17, 2025--

Elix, Inc. (CEO: Shinya Yuki / Headquarters: Tokyo; hereinafter “Elix”) is pleased to announce that its AI drug discovery platform, Elix Discovery™ ( https://www.elix-inc.com/platform/ ), has been adopted by Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo; hereinafter “Eisai”).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250715531249/en/

Traditional drug discovery involves identifying promising compounds from vast numbers of candidates, which leads to long development timelines, high costs, and low success rates—major challenges in pharmaceutical R&D. The application of AI technologies to drug discovery is expected to address these challenges and dramatically improve the efficiency of the process. In particular, AI-driven molecular design and profile prediction enable efficient design of promising drug candidate compounds and narrowing down synthesis and evaluation targets, thereby accelerating the entire discovery process.

Elix is a Japan-based AI drug discovery company with a mission to "Rethinking drug discovery," providing services to pharmaceutical companies, universities, research institutions, and biotech startups. Our flagship AI software platform, Elix Discovery™, launched in 2022, was developed under the concept of “truly usable by medicinal chemists.” *¹

Elix Discovery™ features an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that enables automatic construction of optimal compound profile predictive models. It includes advanced structure generation capabilities with the strength of proposing molecular structures that “humans would not conceive.” The platform allows for fast compound design by optimizing various parameters, including predictive models created on the GUI, through the use of carefully selected generative models including Elix’s proprietary models. It also supports Ligand-Based Drug Design (LBDD) and Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) methods, including docking simulations, offering users the flexibility to test a wide range of approaches.

In addition to providing this platform, Elix aims to contribute to the creation of innovative drug candidates through joint research projects with partner companies, leveraging its extensive experience and expertise in combination with the latest AI technologies. * 2 Notably, Elix Discovery™ offers plans that include multiple AI models trained using data from 16 pharmaceutical companies. For details, please refer to the July 15, 2025 press release. *³

Comment from Taro Terauchi, Head of Integrated Chemistry, Eisai

Eisai has been working to integrate the small-molecule drug-discovery expertise we have cultivated over many years with cutting-edge AI technology. We expect that the introduction of Elix Discovery™ will further accelerate this integration and drive major innovation in the drug-discovery process. Going forward, we will continue to advance AI-powered molecular design to deliver even greater value to patients.

Comment from Shinya Yuki, CEO of Elix

We are honored that Eisai, one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies, has adopted our AI drug discovery platform, Elix Discovery™. Designed from the outset to maximize researchers’ capabilities on the concept that “medicinal chemists can truly use it,” we believe that the combination of our cutting-edge AI technology with Eisai’s extensive drug discovery expertise and exceptional research capabilities will accelerate the creation of innovative new medicines. We look forward to collaborating with Eisai to shape the future of drug discovery together.

References:

*¹ July 15, 2022 press release: “Elix launches “Elix Discovery™,” the only all-in-one platform that provides everything needed for AI drug discovery, from models for property prediction and molecular design to AI consulting and implementation support”
URL: https://www.elix-inc.com/news/newsrelease/1620/

*² April 15, 2025 press release: “Elix and PRISM BioLab Join Forces to Accelerate AI-Driven Drug Discovery for Challenging Protein-Protein Interaction Targets”
URL: https://www.elix-inc.com/news/news-release/2117/

*³ July 15, 2025 press release: “Elix and LINC Become the First in the World to Commercialize an AI Drug Discovery Platform Incorporating Federated Learning-Based AI Models Trained on Data from 16 Pharmaceutical Companies”
URL: https://www.elix-inc.com/news/news-release/2166/

About Eisai

Eisai’s Corporate Concept is “to give first thought to patients and people in the daily living domain, and to increase the benefits that health care provides.” Under this Concept (also known as our human health care ( hhc ) Concept), we aim to effectively achieve social good in the form of relieving anxiety over health and reducing health disparities. With a global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to create and deliver innovative products to target diseases with high unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in our strategic areas of Neurology and Oncology.
In addition, our continued commitment to the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which is a target (3.3) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is demonstrated by our work on various activities together with global partners.
For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com (for global headquarters: Eisai Co., Ltd.), and connect with us on X, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Elix

Elix is an AI drug discovery company with a mission to “Rethinking drug discovery.” Visit https://www.elix-inc.com/ for more details. If your organization is interested in learning more about Elix Discovery™, please feel free to contact us via the details below.

Elix Discovery™ Image

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings haven't wavered in their support of J.J. McCarthy, continuing to exude optimism about his potential when publicly discussing their developing quarterback.

What they haven't done is commit to him as their starter for next season. They're certain to add a veteran to the mix, either in free agency or a trade.

“I want the Vikings to achieve our goals, and I think one of those goals is to make playoff runs,” general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “I think he has the character and ability to be the person and do that for our organization.”

Adofo-Mensah, speaking at his season-ending news conference at team headquarters on Tuesday, reiterated the NFL axiom that effective roster-building relies on flexibility and not predetermination.

“The way we’ve set this team up, we built this corridor like we’ve always talked about to give ourselves multiple shots at it,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Because you never know when there’s going to be a year where the field feels a little bit wide open and you can make that run.”

That could have been the case this season, had the Vikings decided to leave McCarthy in developmental mode and give Sam Darnold a big new contract, or at least use the franchise tag to keep him instead of watching him move to Seattle and lead the team that landed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. The Vikings also made a strong push to re-sign Daniel Jones, who saw a more realistic scenario with Indianapolis for him to start, which turned out to be the right choice.

There's no benefit to indulging in regret or dwelling in the past, so the Vikings weren't about to do that after their 9-8 record despite McCarthy's rocky debut left them a half-game out of the playoffs.

But they're also fully aware of how much the injuries — on top of an offense at Michigan that didn't pass nearly as often as the programs that produced the other quarterback prospects in the rich 2024 draft — have set him back on the learning curve.

“It’s about having the most talented and deep quarterback room you can," coach Kevin O'Connell said. “J.J., I was really encouraged by the type of football he started to play toward the second half of the season and finishing the way he did. ... But we’re still looking at a quarterback who’s started 10 games — 10 out of a possible 34 in two years. Not the ideal path for a young quarterback to develop on the field."

That's, of course, why the Vikings need more options. Though Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell each had their contract extended a year ago, the duo that arrived in 2022 has yet to produce a win in the playoffs. So the urgency to win — and develop McCarthy — has only been heightened.

“I definitely want a competitive situation in that room, because I ultimately think that’s what will make not only the starter, but the next guy and the next guy,” O'Connell said. “We've learned we’ve got to get a lot of guys ready to play, and we’ve got to do it with a responsibility of being the best version of our offense, and the quarterback has a huge role in helping us do that.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell runs onto the field before an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)