Isomorphic Labs, the British biotech spin-off of Google DeepMind, will begin human trials of drugs designed with the Nobel Prize-winning AI technology.
No one can deny Google DeepMind’s role in revolutionizing drug discovery. For example, DeepMind’s AlphaFold has fundamentally transformed scientists’ understanding of protein structures.
Now the platform faces its next big challenge: proving that it can move from mapping biology to actively designing safe, effective new medicines.
Speaking to Wired, Isomorphic Labs president Max Jaderberg said: “We’re getting ready to go to the clinic. It’s going to be a very exciting moment as we start doing clinical trials and seeing the efficacy of these molecules.”
However, Jaderberg hasn’t set a definitive timeline, but it is later than the company planned to begin human studies. But, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said the company would start clinical trials of AI-designed drugs by the end of 2025.
Founded in 2021, Isomorphic Labs is a spin-off of Google DeepMind, Alphabet’s AI research subsidiary. The company uses AlphaFold for drug discovery.
Isomorphic Labs recently introduced IsoDDE (Iso Drug Design Engine), a tool claimed to be twice as accurate as AlphaFold 3, a tool released in 2024.
The company also worked with pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novartis. It is also developing an internal pipeline of medicines focused on immunology and oncology.
These AI-engineered molecules are designed to be more potent, meaning patients can take lower doses with fewer side effects and off-target complications.
“The exciting thing about the molecules we design is that we have so much more insight into how these molecules work, that we have designed them to be very, very powerful,” says Jaderberg.
The company is also developing a clinical development team with a mission to solve all diseases.
Jaderberg said: “It’s a crazy mission. But we really mean it. We say it with a straight face, because we believe this should be possible.”
