Insilico Medicine and Hisun Pharmaceutical Achieve PCC Nomination Within 8 Months of Collaboration

On January 2, 2026, Insilico Medicine (03696.HK), a clinical-stage drug discovery technology company powered by generative artificial intelligence, announced that its collaborative project with HISUN (600267.SH) had achieved a significant milestone. Leveraging its proprietary AI platform, Pharma.AI, Insilico Medicine efficiently nominated a preclinical candidate (PCC) for the collaborative project just eight months after establishing the strategic partnership.

This collaboration commenced in April 2025, when Xiao Weihong, Chairman and President of HISUN, and Ren Feng, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine, jointly signed a strategic cooperation agreement on innovative drug R&D at HISUN’s R&D headquarters. The two parties agreed to leverage their respective strengths to jointly conduct AI-driven innovative drug development for selected targets in specific therapeutic areas. Specifically, Insilico Medicine will be responsible for early-stage research from target identification to Preclinical Candidate (PCC) selection, while HISUN will undertake the studies required for Investigational New Drug (IND) applications and subsequent clinical trial filings.

Over the past eight months, Insilico Medicine has efficiently completed the early-stage research and development of the project, as well as the preclinical studies required for Preclinical Candidate (PCC) nomination, empowered by its artificial intelligence platform, Pharma.AI. The preclinical data for this project have been recognized by HISUN and meet the PCC nomination criteria jointly established by both parties. Moving forward, HISUN will continue to advance the project by conducting studies necessary for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, with plans to submit the clinical trial application to regulatory authorities as soon as possible.

Dr. Feng Ren, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine, stated, “We are delighted to see that the first milestone of our collaboration with HISUN has been achieved in a relatively short period, serving as another vivid example of AI-driven early-stage innovative drug development. This collaboration focuses on relatively novel targets and addresses disease areas with significant unmet clinical needs, which is precisely where AI innovation holds great promise. Supported by the Pharma.AI platform, we are able to systematically explore vast biological and chemical spaces in a shorter timeframe, bringing more innovative treatment options to patients and further strengthening our confidence in AI’s ability to empower early-stage R&D.”

Xiao Weihong, Chairman and President of HISUN, stated, “We are impressed by the efficiency and quality with which a preclinical candidate compound was nominated within eight months for this collaborative project. This fully demonstrates the accelerating and efficiency-enhancing role of artificial intelligence in new drug development. Our collaboration with Insilico Medicine not only strengthens HISUN’s innovative capabilities in early-stage drug development projects, but also marks a critical step forward in our digital and intelligent transformation. The deep integration of traditional pharmaceutical expertise with cutting-edge AI technology will enable HISUN to build its innovation pipeline with higher quality and greater efficiency, thereby continuously providing patients with more valuable therapeutic options.”

Previously, Insilico Medicine has entered into AI-driven drug discovery collaborations with Fosun Pharma, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and other pharmaceutical companies, delivering R&D outcomes across multiple collaborative projects. By integrating advanced AI and automation technologies, Insilico Medicine has significantly enhanced the efficiency of early-stage new drug development in practical applications, setting a benchmark for AI-driven drug discovery. Compared to the traditional early-stage drug development timeline, which typically requires 2.5–4 years, Insilico Medicine’s average duration from project initiation to preclinical candidate (PCC) nomination across more than 20 internally developed projects between 2021 and 2024 was only 12–18 months, with each project requiring the synthesis and testing of approximately 60–200 molecules.

Insilico Medicine is a global pioneer in biotechnology, dedicated to integrating artificial intelligence and automation technologies to accelerate drug discovery and drive innovation in the life sciences sector, empowering humans to live longer and healthier lives. On December 30, 2025, the company was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code: 03696.HK.

Leveraging its self-developed Pharma.AI platform and advanced automated biology laboratories, Insilico Medicine is delivering innovative drug solutions for unmet medical needs in fibrosis, oncology, immunology, pain, obesity, and metabolic disorders. Within its AI-driven drug discovery pipeline, 11 molecules have received approval for clinical trials. The most advanced candidate, Rentosertib (formerly ISM001-055), is a potential first-in-class therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; it has completed Phase 2a clinical studies and yielded encouraging positive results. Furthermore, Insilico Medicine is exploring frontier areas, including breakthroughs in aging research, sustainable chemistry, and agricultural innovation.

HISUN (Stock Code: 600267), founded in 1956, is a state-controlled comprehensive pharmaceutical and health industry group. The company focuses on the research and development, production, and sales of innovative drugs, biologics, generic drugs, and high-end active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), while also expanding into emerging sectors such as animal health, general wellness, and medical aesthetics. Leveraging its strengths in industrial technology transfer and production capacity, HISUN has proactively positioned itself in synthetic biology, becoming a pioneer in this field. Adhering to an unwavering pursuit of "Hisun Quality," the company actively addresses national strategic needs and strives to build a nationally rooted pharmaceutical and health brand with global influence.