Google-backed AI drug discovery startup Isomorphic Labs delays clinical trial timeline

Jan 20 (Reuters) – Isomorphic Labs, which uses artificial intelligence for ‍drug discovery, expects to have its first clinical trials by the end of ‌2026, founder and ‌CEO Demis Hassabis said on Tuesday.

The comments, made at an event at the ​World Economic Forum in Davos, ‍Switzerland, signal ​a delay in ​the Google-backed startup’s ‍ambitions.

Hassabis had said last year the company would have AI-designed drugs in clinical ‍trials by the end of 2025.

Isomorphic was founded in ‍2021 ‍as a ​spin-off from Alphabet’s ​AI ⁠research subsidiary, Google ‌DeepMind, which is headed by Hassabis.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Deborah Sophia; Editing by Shreya ⁠Biswas)