The beginning of 2026 saw collaborations at the cutting edge of AI-driven drug discovery with Eli Lilly, GSK and Pfizer all signing major AI platform deals to accelerate drug discovery pipelines.

High-value pharma/biotech-AI collaborations are driving faster molecule design, better target selection and reduced R&D risk.

This has led to a proliferation of over 200 AI‑designed drugs now in clinical development, with AI‑discovered compounds showing 80–90% Phase I success rates, significantly outperforming the traditional success rate of between 40-65%.

Top UK AI Drug Discovery Companies

Exscientia (Oxford): a pioneer in the field, Exscientia has transitioned from a standalone UK leader to a core component of a global TechBio giant. In late 2024, the company was acquired by US-based Recursion Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at $688 million. Collaborations with Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck KGaA using its AI platform to design small-molecule drugs at record speeds. 

Isomorphic Labs (London): a spin-out from Google DeepMind using its technology for de novo drug design, securing a massive $464m funding round from Alphabet/Google Ventures and Thrive Capital to scale its AI-first drug design engine. In January 2026, it announced a multi-target research collaboration with Johnson & Johnson. This follows landmark deals with Eli Lilly and Novartis, worth up to $3 billion.

BenevolentAI (London): Focuses on identifying novel drug targets for complex diseases using AI. Has recently shifted its business model to focus more on high-value partnerships rather than internal drug development. Secured a $594 million deal with Merck KGaA and maintains a long-standing collaboration with AstraZeneca for chronic kidney disease and pulmonary fibrosis treatments Accretive Edge.

Healx (Cambridge): Specializes in AI-driven drug discovery for rare diseases, Healx uses its Healnet platform to repurpose existing drugs. Raised $47 million in a Series C round in August 2024, led by Atomico. Advanced its lead program for Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) into FDA-cleared Phase 2 trials Accretive Edge.

Chemify (Glasgow): Digitising chemistry to automate molecule synthesis; raised £33 million in Series A funding.

Ignota Labs (London): Focuses on solving toxicity issues in failing drugs; acquired clinical assets from Kronos in October 2025.

Amphista Therapeutics (Cambridge): Signed a massive collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb potentially worth $1.25 billion for protein degradation therapies.

Causaly (London): Uses AI to read and analyse biomedical research, accelerating target identification and causality understanding.

Eli Lilly and Insilico Medicine, Superluminal and Chai

Eli Lilly, the American multi-national pharma company with UK headquarters in Basingstoke and a major R&D presence in Bracknell, has announced three huge AI collaboration deals in the last six months:

• a major collaboration with Insilico Medicine ($2.75B) gives Lilly exclusive rights to a portfolio of AI-discovered, pre-clinical oral therapeutics.
• partnered with Superluminal ($1.3B) to advance small molecule therapies targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for cardiometabolic diseases.
• a collaboration with Chai, an AI biologics company with a $1.3 billion valuation, to utilize their Chai-2 de novo antibody design model, aimed at previously "undruggable" targets.

GSK and the Fleming Initiative

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) operates in the UK from a new central London HQ, an R&D hub in Stevenage and a drug development site in Ware, Hertfordshire. The old HQ in Brentford, a landmark tower visible from the elevated section of the M4, is being redeveloped into 2,300 new homes.

The Fleming Initiative collaboration. In November 2025, GSK committed £45 million to a partnership with Imperial College London. This project uses AI to target WHO priority pathogens like Gram-negative bacteria and MRSA; accelerate the discovery of new antibiotics and fungal treatments; create predictive models that act like a "weather forecast" to track how superbugs emerge and spread.

GSK has also recently collaborated with the Teichmann Laboratory which uses single-cell and spatial genomics to build a cell-by-cell model of the human body. This has already identified previously unknown cell types in asthma and is now targeting COPD, liver, and kidney diseases.

Pfizer and PostEra AI

With offices in Maidenhead and Cambridge and R&D based in Sandwich, Kent, Pfizer is aggressively expanding its AI drug discovery portfolio through partnerships. Its deal with the startup PostEra is worth up to $610 million for generative chemistry and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). 

Other key collaborations include expanding with XtalPi for molecular modelling, partnering with CytoReason ($110M) for AI disease models, and collaborating with Boltz and Valo Health for small-molecule discovery.