Enamine and Ewha team up on AI drug discovery

Enamine Ltd. and Ewha Womans University’s Global AI Drug Discovery Center signed an MOU on Oct. 7, 2026 in Seoul to link AI design with rapid synthesis and biological testing. The deal aims to close the gap between promising virtual molecules and compounds that can be made, tested and advanced toward drug discovery programs.

Why it matters: - The partnership is built to shorten drug discovery timelines by connecting AI-generated ideas with real synthesis and testing. - The agreement targets a common bottleneck in AI drug design: turning computational hits into compounds that can actually be made and validated. - The collaboration could improve hit finding and lead generation for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic partners in Korea and beyond.

What happened: - Enamine Ltd. and the Global AI Drug Discovery Center at Ewha Womans University signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Oct. 7, 2026. - The signing took place at a ceremony on the Ewha campus in Seoul. - The MOU establishes a long-term strategic partnership in AI-driven drug discovery. - The two groups will combine Ewha’s AI, computational chemistry and data-driven drug design work with Enamine’s synthetically accessible chemical space, rapid synthesis and biological testing.

The details: - The partnership will build a closed design–make–test–analyze cycle. - AI models will search within Enamine’s synthetically accessible chemical space and learn from it. - Prioritized compounds will be synthesized and experimentally tested. - Test results will feed back into the next round of designs. - Enamine will give the Center access to in-stock building blocks and screening compounds. - Enamine will also provide access to its REAL chemical spaces of make-on-demand molecules for virtual screening, generative design and model training. - The partners will use reactions with experimentally validated reactivity to synthesize molecules quickly from available reagents. - Enamine’s biology team will profile selected compounds on-site with biochemical, biophysical and cell-based assays. - The team will also run early ADME studies. - The agreement covers joint research in synthesizability-aware generative design, ultra-large virtual screening, reaction prediction, property prediction and high-quality experimental data generation for model training. - The partners plan to publish results together. - The MOU also opens the door to integrated drug discovery offerings that move projects from AI-based design to validated hits and leads. - The agreement includes joint applications to Korean government R&D programs, Horizon Europe and bilateral Korea–Ukraine initiatives. - It also calls for exchanges of faculty, researchers and students. - The two sides will pursue internships and training in AI-driven drug design, synthetic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. - Joint symposiums, workshops and seminars are also part of the plan. - Enamine says it has 4.8 million in-stock screening compounds and 375,000 in-stock building blocks. - Enamine REAL is described as a chemical space of billions of synthetically feasible molecules that can typically be synthesized in 3–4 weeks with a success rate above 80%. - REAL compounds are generated by combining 203,000 in-stock building blocks through 169 parallel synthesis protocols. - Ewha’s center integrates AI and computer-aided drug design with physics- and mechanism-based computational chemistry, molecular simulation, medicinal chemistry and biological validation. - The center has collaborated on drug discovery research across multiple therapeutic areas with universities, research institutes and industry partners in Korea and internationally. - Enamine’s website is More information. - The REAL collection is detailed in the company’s REAL compounds page. - Ewha’s center provides additional background at the center’s website.

Between the lines: - The deal reflects a broader shift in AI drug discovery toward “closed-loop” workflows, where model predictions are constrained by synthesizability and then checked in the lab. - Enamine brings scale on the chemistry side, while Ewha brings model-building and computational design expertise. - The combination is meant to reduce wasted time on molecules that look promising on a screen but fail in synthesis or testing.

What’s next: - The partners will begin joint research projects under the MOU. - They will seek funding through government and international R&D programs. - Exchanges, training programs and joint scientific events are expected to follow. - The partners will also explore broader drug discovery services for external collaborators in Korea and globally.

The bottom line: - Enamine and Ewha are trying to make AI drug design more practical by tying it directly to synthesis, data generation and validation.