Insilico Medicine Achieves Key Milestone in Collaboration with Hisun Pharmaceutical: Preclinical Candidate Compound Nominated in Just 8 MonthsJanuary 2, 2026
Insilico Medicine (03696.HK), a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering generative AI-driven drug discovery, announced a significant milestone in its collaborative project with Hisun Pharmaceutical (600267.SH) on January 2, 2026. Leveraging its proprietary AI platform Pharma.AI, Insilico Medicine efficiently nominated a Preclinical Candidate Compound (PCC) for the joint program merely eight months after the strategic partnership was established.
The collaboration was initiated in April 2025, when Xiao Weihong, Chairman and President of Hisun Pharmaceutical, and Ren Feng, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine, signed a strategic cooperation agreement for innovative drug R&D at Hisun Pharmaceutical’s R&D headquarters. Under the agreement, the two parties agreed to leverage their respective strengths to jointly conduct AI-driven innovative drug discovery for selected targets in specific indication areas. Specifically, Insilico Medicine is responsible for early-stage research from target identification to PCC nomination, while Hisun Pharmaceutical oversees research supporting the Investigational New Drug (IND) application and subsequent clinical trial filings.
Over the past eight months, empowered by the Pharma.AI platform, Insilico Medicine completed the project’s early-stage R&D with high efficiency, along with all preclinical studies required to support PCC nomination. The preclinical data of the project has been validated by Hisun Pharmaceutical and meets the jointly defined PCC nomination criteria. Moving forward, Hisun Pharmaceutical will take over the project to conduct IND-enabling research and plans to submit the clinical trial application to regulatory authorities as soon as possible.
Dr. Ren Feng, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine, commented: “We are delighted to see the first milestone achieved in such a short timeframe through our collaboration with Hisun Pharmaceutical. This serves as another compelling example of how generative AI accelerates early-stage innovative drug development. Focused on relatively novel targets and addressing disease areas with significant unmet clinical needs, this collaboration exemplifies the high-impact potential of AI-driven innovation. Supported by the Pharma.AI platform, we can systematically explore vast biological and chemical spaces in a shorter period, delivering more innovative therapeutic solutions to patients and further reinforcing our confidence in AI’s transformative role in early-stage R&D.”
Xiao Weihong, Chairman and President of Hisun Pharmaceutical, stated: “We are deeply impressed by the efficiency and quality demonstrated in nominating the PCC within just eight months. This fully underscores AI’s ability to accelerate and enhance the efficiency of new drug development. Our partnership with Insilico Medicine not only strengthens Hisun Pharmaceutical’s innovation capabilities in early-stage drug R&D programs but also marks a critical step in our digital and intelligent transformation journey. The deep integration of traditional pharmaceutical expertise with cutting-edge AI technology will enable Hisun Pharmaceutical to build a high-quality, high-efficiency innovative pipeline and continuously deliver valuable treatment options to patients.”
Prior to this collaboration, Insilico Medicine has established AI-driven drug discovery partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies including Fosun Pharma, Sanofi, and Eli Lilly, delivering R&D outcomes across multiple joint programs. By integrating advanced AI and automation technologies, Insilico Medicine has significantly improved the efficiency of early-stage drug discovery in practical applications, setting a benchmark for AI-powered drug development. In contrast to the traditional 2.5–4 year timeline for early-stage drug R&D, Insilico Medicine achieved an average timeframe of only 12–18 months from project initiation to PCC nomination across more than 20 internal programs between 2021 and 2024, with each program requiring the synthesis and testing of only approximately 60–200 molecules.
About Insilico Medicine
Insilico Medicine is a global pioneering biotechnology company dedicated to integrating artificial intelligence and automation technologies to accelerate drug discovery, drive innovation in the life sciences, and empower humans to live longer and healthier lives. On December 30, 2025, the company was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 03696.HK).
Leveraging its proprietary Pharma.AI platform and state-of-the-art automated biology laboratories, Insilico Medicine is delivering innovative drug solutions for disease areas with unmet medical needs, including fibrosis, oncology, immunology, pain, obesity, and metabolic disorders. Within its AI-driven discovery pipeline, 11 molecules have already obtained clinical trial approvals. Among these, the most advanced candidate is Rentosertib (formerly ISM001-055), a potential first-in-class drug for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It has completed Phase 2a clinical trials and yielded encouraging positive results. In addition, Insilico Medicine is exploring cutting-edge fields, including breakthroughs in aging research, sustainable chemistry, and agricultural innovation.
About Hisun Pharmaceutical

Hisun Pharmaceutical (Stock Code: 600267), founded in 1956, is a state-controlled comprehensive pharmaceutical and healthcare industry group. The company focuses on the research and development, production, and sales of innovative drugs, biopharmaceuticals, generics, and high-end active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), while also expanding into emerging sectors including animal health, consumer health, and aesthetic medicine. Leveraging its strengths in industrial technology transfer and production capacity, Hisun has also made a forward-looking layout in synthetic biology, emerging as a pioneer in this field. Committed to the pursuit of excellence in Hisun Quality, the company actively fulfills national strategic needs and continuously strives to build a nationally owned pharmaceutical and healthcare brand with global influence.