Iktos, a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for new drug design, and UCB, a global biopharma company focusing on neurology and immunology, has announced a software licensing agreement related to AI-based retrosynthesis analysis and planning tool Spaya. 

Spaya will be used to empower synthetic and medicinal chemistry projects for drug design and discovery of new chemical entities within UCB. 

Under the agreement terms, Iktos will deploy a customised version of Spaya within UCB’s IT infrastructure to incorporate their reactions and starting materials data. 

Iktos has developed AI based retrosynthesis analysis and planning tool Spaya by harnessing the power of data-driven retrosynthesis algorithm for systematic exploration and prioritisation of synthetic routes for a desired compound in minutes. Furthermore, information on commercially available starting materials and price enhances the value proposition of Spaya. 

Yann Gaston-Mathe, President and CEO, Iktos said, “The company is eager to demonstrate to our collaborators the power of Iktos technology to accelerate their research, and to get the opportunity to further prove our value in real-life projects by effectively deploying our technology with customers.” 

Luis Castro, UCB’s Global Head of Discovery Chemistry said, “Further embedding AI within our drug discovery processes is part of our digital transformation ambition and we are excited about deploying the power of this technology to help speed up drug design and discovery for the benefit of patients worldwide.”