Syntekabio Identifies Hits for Two Drug Targets with MSK... AI Overcomes 15-Year Challenge

Syntekabio, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, has identified hit compounds for two drug targets through a joint research project with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in the United States. One of the targets had challenged MSK researchers for about 15 years as they sought to identify hit compounds. The company said the achievement demonstrates the potential of AI-based drug discovery technology.

Syntekabio announced on November 9 that it had been invited as a research collaboration partner to MSK's AI drug discovery event, held in New York on November 6 (local time), where it presented the results of its joint research and its global collaboration strategy.

The event was attended by global AI and biotech companies, including Syntekabio, Amazon, Absci, Boltz Bio, Manifold Bio, Manas AI, and FathomTx. Syntekabio CEO Jeong Jongseon presented the company's achievements with its agentic AI platform and next-generation drug development strategies, including antibody biobetters and improved small-molecule drugs, under the theme "A Paradigm Shift in Drug Development: From Target Discovery to Agentic AI Acceleration."

One of the targets in the joint research is a particularly challenging project on which MSK researchers had struggled to identify hit compounds for about 15 years. Various approaches had been tried, including searches based on DNA-encoded libraries (DEL) by global specialists, but they reportedly failed to achieve the desired results. At the event, the MSK principal investigator (PI) leading the research personally presented the progress made over the years and Syntekabio's achievement in identifying hit compounds.

Syntekabio used its proprietary language model-based virtual screening technology, "LM-VS (Language Model-driven Virtual Screening)." The technology identifies candidate compounds from a search space of about 10 billion compounds. The company said the achievement demonstrates the potential of AI technology for drug targets that have been difficult to address through conventional large-scale experimental screening. Details of the research targets were not disclosed to allow for future publication of the findings and protect intellectual property.

At the event, Syntekabio also presented seven antibody biobetter lead candidates targeting PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4, IL-4Rα, IL-1β, BTLA, and ACVR2B. In initial experiments, the candidates showed improved or comparable binding performance versus existing antibodies. Some candidates also achieved high antibody concentrations, indicating their potential for development as high-concentration subcutaneous (SC) formulations.

The company is exploring the possibility of developing these candidates into next-generation antibody drugs that improve on the performance of existing blockbuster antibodies. The related research results are also scheduled to be presented through collaboration partners at BIO-Europe 2026 in Munich, Germany.

MSK plans to publish the results of the joint research in a leading academic journal and then issue a separate press release about the collaboration. The New York event was an opportunity for MSK to invite Syntekabio as a research collaboration partner and share its technology and potential for collaboration ahead of the publication.

CEO Jeong Jongseon said, "It is meaningful that our joint research with MSK has enabled us to identify significant hit compounds for drug targets that have long been difficult to address. Building on the academic publication of our joint research results, we will expand opportunities for follow-up candidate development, global research collaborations, and commercialization."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.