drug discovery news, stories and analysis

Funnel chart showing the AI drug discovery pipeline for rentosertib: 79 molecules synthesized narrowing to 1 preclinical candidate, then Phase I, Phase IIa with 71 patients, and Phase III with 320 patients. The AI-discovered drug rentosertib is the first fully AI-originated molecule to reach Phase III.

AI-discovered drug rentosertib enters Phase III trial

Rentosertib, an AI-discovered TNIK inhibitor for IPF, enters Phase III with 320 patients. It is the first fully AI-originated drug to reach late-stage trials.

Lars Cornelissen · Jul 8, 2026

Abstract timeline data art of the drug development pipeline with the headline figure 13.5 years: preclinical research at roughly 3 to 6 years, Phase 1 at 1 to 2 years, Phase 2 at 2 to 3 years, Phase 3 at 3 to 4 years, and FDA review at 1 to 2 years, illustrating the decade-plus wet-lab gap AI drug discovery still faces.

Business

Anthropic drug discovery hits the wet-lab wall

Anthropic drug discovery pushes Claude Science into pharma R&D, but wet-lab costs and data gaps mean no AI-designed drug has cleared FDA approval yet.

Lars Cornelissen · Jul 4, 2026

Claude Science resource scale: 60 curated skills and connectors, ToolUniverse at 600 scientific tools, ClinicalTrials.gov at 500000 studies, and AlphaFold at 200000000 structures.

AI

Claude Science turns lab agents into pharma plumbing

Claude Science is Anthropic’s beta workbench for researchers, with 60-plus curated skills and connectors. Treat it as lab infrastructure first.

Lars Cornelissen · Jul 1, 2026