English Silicon Intelligence and Takeda reach pipeline licensing agreement, to support the development and commercialization of AI-driven PHD inhibitors for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD).

On December 12, 2025, Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company driven by generative artificial intelligence, and the market-oriented new drug research and development company TAIJING-KY (4157), along with its wholly-owned Beijing subsidiary Taijing Pharmaceutical Research and Development (hereinafter referred to as "Taijing"), announced today that they have reached an exclusive pipeline licensing cooperation agreement. According to the terms of the agreement, Taijing will receive exclusive development, commercialization, and sublicensing rights for the PHD inhibitor ISM4808 in the Greater China region (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), while Insilico Medicine will be entitled to one-time upfront payment, milestone payments based on development and sales, and tiered royalty fees based on net sales, totaling tens of millions of dollars. Research shows that CKD causes over 1.5 million deaths each year, with over one-seventh of kidney disease patients suffering from anemia due to a decrease in erythropoietin (EPO) and shortened red blood cell lifespan. However, anemia cannot be completely cured, and current therapies mainly focus on symptomatic treatment to alleviate symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, body pain, dizziness/fainting, with the aim of improving patients' quality of life. ISM4808 was nominated as a candidate PHD inhibitor in 2022 and has the potential for "best in class," targeting the HIF- pathway, which has been Nobel Prize-recognized, to induce EPO and improve iron utilization to enhance red blood cell regeneration for the treatment of chronic kidney disease-related anemia. Notably, the novel structure of ISM4808 was empowered by Insilico Medicine's proprietary Chemistry42 engine and was designed, synthesized, and tested within 12 months prior to the nomination of the candidate drug. In January 2024, the discovery and development process of the ISM4808 series was published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, highlighting the novelty and efficiency of Insilico Medicine's AI-driven drug discovery workflow. In preclinical studies, ISM4808 demonstrated strong efficacy in in vitro and in vivo experiments, with lower effective doses validated in a chronic kidney disease rat model. Additionally, ISM4808 exhibited good oral drug properties, including excellent in vitro ADME properties, superior pharmacokinetics (PK) in animal models, as well as higher maximum tolerated dose and a larger safety margin. The project obtained clinical trial approval from China's CDE in 2023. Dr. Feng Ren, Co-Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, stated, "We are excited to partner with Taijing Pharmaceutical. Previously, empowered by our AI platform, Insilico Medicine efficiently nominated two novel small molecule inhibitors for different indications under the PHD project. Among them, the candidate molecule ISM5411 for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease has completed two Phase I clinical trials under Insilico Medicine's leadership, demonstrating good safety, further enhancing our confidence in targeting the PHD mechanism. We are very pleased that another candidate drug, ISM4808, for this target will be further advanced by our experienced and commercially strong partner Taijing. I believe Taijing's strong drug development capabilities and clinical resources will help accelerate the project and bring AI-driven therapies to patients in need sooner." Guolong Huang, Chairman of Taijing Biotechnology, commented, "We are pleased to establish this strategic partnership with Insilico Medicine, whose innovative generative AI platform is truly impressive. With over a million dialysis patients in mainland China alone, the PHD inhibitor drug market is experiencing explosive growth, with the market size increasing from 50 million RMB to 2.45 billion RMB in just five years, and oral drugs gradually replacing traditional injectable drugs to meet clinical needs for convenience and compliance. This authorization aligns perfectly with our mission in innovative drugs, and Taijing is committed to advancing the clinical development of this project."