Iktos strengthens ties with leading Japanese pharmaceutical partners as it deepens its presence in the Japanese market
Iktos, a global leader in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to drug discovery, is proud to announce its selection for the "Subsidy for Projects to Stimulate Direct Investment in Japan" program offered by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
This recognition marks a significant milestone in Iktos's growth in Japan, and comes at a moment of strong momentum for the company in the region. Alongside the JETRO selection, Iktos is announcing a series of developments that underscore the growing trust Japanese pharmaceutical companies are placing in its AI-driven drug discovery platform: a new five-year subscription agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical, an expanded user base at Nippon Shinyaku, and a featured article in the journal of the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.
A Vote of Confidence from JETRO
JETRO's subsidy program supports the introduction of innovative technologies and business models to Japan through partnerships between foreign and Japanese companies, helping accelerate inward investment and innovation nationwide. Iktos's selection reflects the value its chemistry-driven generative AI and automated synthesis robotics bring to Japan's pharmaceutical industry, where efficiency and speed in drug discovery are top priorities.
With this support, Iktos will deepen its collaboration with Irimajiri Therapeutics, a partnership launched in October 2025. Together, the companies are combining Irimajiri's advanced peptidomimetic technology and compound library with Iktos's AI, robotics, and MT-Bench platform to pursue difficult, previously "undruggable" protein-protein interaction (PPI) targets.
Deepening Partnerships Across Japan's Pharmaceutical Industry
Kissei Pharmaceutical: A Five-Year Commitment
Since adopting Iktos's AI drug discovery software in 2023, Kissei Pharmaceutical has seen clear value in its research operations. Building on this track record, Iktos and Kissei have agreed to a new five-year subscription agreement, a long-term commitment that will support Kissei's goal of making drug discovery faster and more efficient.
Nippon Shinyaku: Scaling Toward an "AI Native" Future
Nippon Shinyaku has used Iktos's software since 2024, and in 2026 significantly expanded its access to Iktos's generative AI platform, Makya, growing its user base in the process. Led by the company's Drug Discovery Informatics Promotion Section, Nippon Shinyaku is working toward a future in which every medicinal chemist can use AI fluently as part of daily research, and Iktos is proud to support that vision.
A Voice in the Scientific Community
Hideyoshi Fuji, Iktos' Director Japan, contributed an article to the August 2026 issue of MEDCHEM NEWS, published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan's Medicinal Chemistry Division. The article, "New Trends in AI Drug Discovery: How Chemistry-Driven Generative AI and Robotics Are Transforming the Frontier of Medicinal Chemistry," makes the case for a "chemist-in-the-loop" approach, AI as a powerful digital assistant, not a replacement for human expertise, and shares results from a PKMYT1 inhibitor program, in which Iktos achieved a 25% hit rate in three months, identifying four novel chemical scaffolds among just 16 compounds tested.
Access the article: https://doi.org/10.14894/medchem.36.3_185
