University of Tokyo AI Startup Partners With Shionogi on Drug Development
A specialized AI team from academia and a major drugmaker are formalizing a collaboration to apply machine learning and large-scale medical data to the drug discovery process, targeting the industry's long-standing efficiency problem.
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
OptimAIze Consulting, an AI startup from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, has signed a consulting contract with pharmaceutical company Shionogi to support drug development using AI and real-world data. The partnership aims to select target diseases and integrate clinical and non-clinical data to improve the probability of success in clinical development.
The contract, finalized in June 2026, covers consulting services that will use large-scale medical databases and advanced AI analysis techniques including machine learning and network analysis. The work is designed to improve decision-making and expand the options available during drug development. OptimAIze Consulting was founded by researchers from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine and employs engineers with medical qualifications who perform analysis themselves. Shionogi, a research-driven pharmaceutical company founded in 1878, has been shifting toward a Healthcare as a Service model and was named a DX Brand by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for 2026.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.