Servier has recently announced two major partnerships with Insilico Medicine and Iktos, marking an important step in the Group’s ambition to accelerate the discovery of innovative medicines. Both collaborations focus on the use of AI to design and optimize first-in-class small-molecule drug candidates in Servier’s key therapeutic areas, notably oncology and neurology. Initiated by Servier’s U.S. Research team, these partnerships reflect the Group’s continued commitment to accelerate scientific innovation and bring new therapeutic solutions to patients faster.   

We sat down with Dale Porter, Head of U.S. Research at Servier, to learn more about these collaborations and how AI fits into Servier’s broader R&D strategy. 

How is AI reshaping Servier’s discovery research? 

Dale: “With two new strategic partnerships, Servier is strengthening its research capabilities by integrating AI into early drug discovery. Both collaborations focus on the use of AI to design and optimize first-in-class small-molecule drug candidates in Servier’s key therapeutic areas, notably oncology and neurology. These partnerships reflect the Group’s continued commitment to combining scientific excellence with advanced digital technologies.” 

Why partner with Insilico Medicine and Iktos? 

Dale: “Both Insilico Medicine and Iktos bring strong, complementary expertise in AI-driven drug discovery. The collaboration with Iktos leverages an integrated platform combining generative AI and robotics to rapidly design and synthesize small molecules across multiple targets, including oncological and neurological indications.
As for Insilico Medicine, the partnership will leverage its proprietary Pharma.AI platform to identify new drug candidates for complex oncology targets, by exploring and designing molecules for chemical spaces that were previously difficult to access. Insilico Medicine has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to quickly discover and advance small molecule drug candidates.” 

How do these collaborations fit into Servier’s long-term R&D strategy? 

Dale: “These partnerships are fully aligned with Servier’s One Innovation Engine strategy, which aims to complement internal R&D with external innovation at every stage of the value chain, from discovery research and molecular design through development. Together, these collaborations support Servier’s ambition to increase development success rates and reduce time-to-market, ideally bringing new therapeutic options to patients faster.”