• Synsight provides Iktos with an exclusive worldwide license to INSERM’s patented technology enabling high performance AI-driven in cellulo screening of modulators of protein-protein and RNA-protein interactions
• The merger further complements Iktos' AI-based drug discovery platform, that currently includes generative AI design, Retrosynthesis, and AI-driven automated synthesis capabilities by adding the key step of automated biological testing

Iktos, a company specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics for new drug design, announces the acquisition of Synsight, a French biotech company applying AI and high-content cell imaging to the discovery of novel drug candidates. The operation completes Iktos’ unique platform in AI and Robotics-assisted drug discovery.

Strengthening Iktos’s drug discovery value chain

Under an exclusive license from INSERM, Synsight has developed MT Bench™, a technology that detects protein-protein (PPI) and RNA-protein interactions (RPI) in cellulo with unprecedented performance and enables the screening of molecules that can modulate these interactions.

Iktos, a leading European company in GenAI for Drug Discovery with a strong track record of successful collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies, is developing Iktos Robotics, a unique AI-driven robotic synthesis platform to accelerate and automate drug discovery, so far a highly manual and resource intensive process.

In addition, the integration of Synsight's MT Bench technology will bring a key complementary element to the Iktos Robotics platform: the biological testing of synthesized compounds. Synsight further strengthens Iktos’ drug discovery value chain, enabling the company to internalize biological testing which has been outsourced until now thus further accelerate the design-make-test process.

The integration will also enable Iktos to launch drug discovery programs targeting PPI’s and RPI’s, which play a critical role in many diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Synsight’s screening platform that benefits from AI, cellular imaging and robotization, is in line with Iktos’ ambition to build an end-to end AI- and Robotics-enabled discovery platform

Founded by Cyril Bauvais, and Guillaume Bollot, Synsight, a member of the Genopole biocluster, is based at the Evry Genopole and operates a joint laboratory with Université Evry Paris Saclay (UMR 1204 SABNP laboratory). The company uses cellular imaging, AI and robotization to drive the discovery of PPI- and RPI-targeted drug candidates.

“This acquisition is an important milestone for Iktos”, stated Yann Gaston-Mathé, co-founder and CEO of Iktos. “Iktos, a leader in AI-driven Drug Discovery, unlocks bottlenecks in challenging programs and accelerates identification of drug candidates. The acquisition of Synsight enables Iktos to expand its platform to new modulators of PPI’s and RPI’s, historically highly challenging targets, thereby addressing major unmet medical needs in various therapeutic areas such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.”

Alexis Denis, SVP, Head of Drug Discovery at Iktos, declared: “PPI and RPI are two very important target families as they regulate major biological mechanisms and play a major role in many diseases. They are very promising, but highly challenging targets and notoriously hard to drug. Synsight’s MT Bench technology platform is a fantastic tool to study those interactions and identify novel molecules to modulate these targets. Combined with Iktos Generative AI technology and Robotics platform, we are confident that we will have a unique tool to make breakthroughs in this challenging but very promising field.”

Cyril Bauvais, co-founder and President of Synsight, declared: “I’m very happy to become part of the Iktos team and at the perspective of adding our platform to build a one-of-its-kind drug discovery engine. Iktos superior generative AI and retrosynthesis AI technology combined with our expertise in high content cellular screening and detection of molecular interactions within the cell will provide us with a competitive advantage in targeting PPIs and RPIs. I, as well as the whole Synsight team, look forward to a successful collaboration with our new colleagues.”