Evogene has partnered with Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery to establish a joint initiative aimed at accelerating small-molecule drug discovery programmes emerging from Israel’s academic research ecosystem.
The collaboration, facilitated by Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company, will combine Evogene’s AI-driven computational chemistry platform, ChemPass AI, with the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery’s experimental and translational research capabilities.
The partners said the initiative is designed to help academic researchers and scientific entrepreneurs translate novel biological discoveries into viable drug development programmes. While academic institutions often generate new disease targets and early scientific insights, many projects face barriers in progressing toward drug candidates because of limited access to integrated medicinal chemistry, screening, validation and translational development resources.
Through the new framework, Evogene and the Blavatnik Center will identify and assess promising projects from Israeli academic institutions and entrepreneurial ventures. Selected programmes will receive access to an integrated Design-Make-Test-Analyze, or DMTA, workflow intended to support the discovery and optimisation of novel small molecules.
Evogene will contribute its ChemPass AI generative engine and computational chemistry expertise to design and refine potential drug candidates. The platform is designed to generate and evaluate small-molecule structures against defined biological targets, supporting researchers as they seek to identify compounds with appropriate potency, selectivity and drug-like properties.
The Blavatnik Center will provide experimental validation, screening capabilities and translational drug discovery support through its laboratory infrastructure. By combining computational design with laboratory testing, the partners aim to shorten early discovery timelines, reduce risk and improve the probability that promising academic projects can advance toward commercial development.
The initiative will focus on projects involving novel biological targets, including molecular glues and complex proteins. Molecular glues are small molecules that can bring two proteins together, potentially enabling drug developers to influence targets that have historically been difficult to address with conventional approaches.
Ofer Haviv, president and chief executive officer of Evogene, said the collaboration could help address a persistent challenge in early-stage drug discovery: converting high-quality academic biology into practical therapeutic programmes.
“Israel’s academic institutions generate world-class discoveries and novel therapeutic targets,” Haviv said. “However, many entrepreneurs and researchers face significant hurdles in transforming these scientific insights into viable drug development programs.”
He added that the partnership will combine AI-driven computational chemistry with experimental validation capabilities to broaden the pipeline of drug candidates supported by Evogene’s technology.
Leah Klapper, managing director of the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery, said the partnership supports the centre’s objective of moving academic discoveries closer to patient treatment.
“By partnering with Evogene, and leveraging their cutting-edge ChemPass AI engine, we can provide researchers and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive drug discovery pipeline,” Klapper said.
The companies said researchers and entrepreneurs working on biological targets and seeking to identify small-molecule therapeutics will be able to submit suitable projects for potential evaluation. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.