Isomorphic Labs AI Drug Discovery: Timeline, Partners and Results
Isomorphic Labs is Alphabet’s bet that AlphaFold can become a drug company. It has two big pharma partners, $2.7 billion in outside funding and reported talks at a valuation of at least $40 billion, but no drug in a human trial yet.
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The short answer: Isomorphic Labs is an Alphabet company launched in 2021 to turn Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold work into medicines. Its strongest proven result is AlphaFold 3, co-developed with Google DeepMind and peer-reviewed in Nature; outside groups since found it among the best tools of its kind but leaning on memorized training structures. Its own design engine and drug programs are company-reported only, Reuters reported in January 2026 that its first clinical trials were delayed, and we found no dosed patient as of October 28, 2026.
- Tier: 2, AI science lab
- Own models: Yes (AlphaFold 3 with Google DeepMind; the Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine)
- Own wet lab: Not confirmed
- First health move: November 2021, launched by Alphabet to apply AI to drug discovery
- Furthest result so far: Peer-reviewed, Research tool (AlphaFold 3)
- Tier 1 partners: Google DeepMind and Alphabet (sister company, co-developer and investor)
What Is Isomorphic Labs?
Isomorphic Labs is a London-based Alphabet company that uses AI to design drugs. Demis Hassabis, who heads Google DeepMind and shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold, founded it in 2021. It is a tier 2 company on our scale because it builds its own biology models and runs its own drug programs, and its tier 1 tie is Google DeepMind and Alphabet.
The company works two ways. It partners with large drug makers, starting with Eli Lilly and Novartis in January 2024, and it is building its own pipeline. Its core technology began with AlphaFold 3, released with Google DeepMind in May 2024; Isomorphic staff are listed as core contributors on the Nature paper. It has since presented the Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine, which it describes as going beyond AlphaFold 3, and its May 2026 Series B was raised to scale that engine. We found no peer-reviewed paper describing the engine.
Its PubMed record is mostly computational. Beyond AlphaFold 3, Isomorphic scientists wrote a 2025 review of AlphaFold in drug design (PMID 41130640); the other papers that list Isomorphic are academic projects with one co-author holding an Isomorphic affiliation. In June 2025 the Boston Globe reported a Cambridge, Massachusetts outpost set up with an eye on clinical trials, and a job listing there for a medical director of oncology clinical development points to cancer as an early clinical area. The company has not named a disease area itself.
For investors, the gap is the story. Bloomberg reported in October 2026 that Isomorphic was in funding talks at a valuation of at least $40 billion, five months after its $2.1 billion Series B, while none of its molecules has been tested in people. That price rests on the platform and on Alphabet’s backing, not on clinical data.
Isomorphic Labs Healthcare Timeline: Every Move Since 2021
| Date | Move | Type | Evidence level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | Reported to be in funding talks at a valuation of at least $40 billion; terms not final | Funding | Not a result | Bloomberg, Runtime Wire |
| May 2026 | Raises a $2.1 billion Series B to scale its AI drug design engine | Funding | Not a result | Isomorphic Labs, Reuters via WHTC |
| Jan 2026 | Reuters reports that Isomorphic has delayed its first clinical trial timeline | Trial | Announced, Preclinical | Reuters via WHBL |
| Jun 2025 | Sets up a Cambridge, Massachusetts outpost with an eye on clinical trials | Lab | Not a result | Boston Globe |
| Mar 2025 | Raises $600 million from Thrive Capital in its first external funding round | Funding | Not a result | TechCrunch, Tech.eu |
| Feb 19, 2025 | Expands its Novartis collaboration | Partnership | Not a result | Isomorphic Labs |
| May 2024 | AlphaFold 3, co-developed with Google DeepMind, published in Nature | Model | Peer-reviewed, Research tool | PMID 38718835 |
| Jan 2024 | Signs drug discovery collaborations with Eli Lilly and Novartis, reported at nearly $3 billion combined including milestones | Partnership | Not a result | Bloomberg, Fierce Biotech |
| Nov 2021 | Alphabet launches Isomorphic Labs, built on DeepMind’s AlphaFold work | Investment | Not a result | Gigazine |
Isomorphic Labs’ Biggest Results, and How Far Each Has Been Proven
Isomorphic’s only peer-reviewed headline result is AlphaFold 3, which it shares with Google DeepMind. Outside tests support its lead over other tools but show clear limits on new targets. Everything about its own drugs is still announced or company-reported.
AlphaFold 3. Peer-reviewed, Research tool. The Nature paper reports far greater accuracy for protein ligand interactions than state-of-the-art docking tools, and gains for protein nucleic acid and antibody antigen predictions (PMID 38718835). The earlier AlphaFold 2 was checked by outside groups, who found many predictions closely matched experimental maps but advised treating them as hypotheses (PMID 38036854). What would prove more: independent benchmarks on new drug targets, and molecules designed with it that succeed in the lab and the clinic.
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Independent tests of AlphaFold 3. Peer-reviewed, Research tool. Groups with no tie to Isomorphic have now tested AlphaFold 3, and the picture is mixed. On 88 molecular glue complexes held out of training, it was the best of five co-folding models, with a 50.6% success rate on protein interfaces, but the authors found most successes stemmed from memorization (PMID 41072002). On lipid protein complexes it had the highest success rate, 76.1%, which fell to 47.2% for structures not seen in training (PMID 42268396). A University of Basel team showed that co-folding models including AlphaFold 3 can break basic physical rules under plausible changes to the protein or ligand (PMID 41053181). For a drug hunter, that means AlphaFold 3 is strongest where similar structures already exist and least proven on truly new targets, which is where new medicines are hardest to find.
Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine. Company-reported, Molecule design. Isomorphic presents the engine as a step beyond AlphaFold 3. Its performance figures come from the company, not a peer-reviewed paper. What would prove more: a peer-reviewed paper with blinded tests, or a molecule from the engine entering a trial.
Drug programs and first trials. Announced, Preclinical. Isomorphic has not named its drug candidates or published preclinical data. In January 2026 Reuters reported that its clinical trial timeline had slipped. We found no trial registration or first dosed patient as of October 28, 2026. What would prove more: a trial registration, then first dosing, then phase 1 safety data.
Who Isomorphic Labs Works With
Isomorphic Labs works with two big drug makers and is funded by Alphabet and outside investors. Its tier 1 tie is Google DeepMind and Alphabet: they share a founder, co-developed AlphaFold 3, and Alphabet backs it.
- Pharma partners: Eli Lilly and Novartis, both signed in January 2024, as Bloomberg reported. Fierce Biotech put the two deals at nearly $3 billion combined; most of that is milestones, which are paid only if programs succeed. Novartis expanded its collaboration on February 19, 2025, Isomorphic announced.
- Investors: Thrive Capital led the $600 million first external round in March 2025, as TechCrunch reported. Isomorphic announced a $2.1 billion Series B in May 2026, and Bloomberg reported talks in October 2026 at a valuation of at least $40 billion.
- Own lab: Not confirmed. Its offices include London and a Cambridge, Massachusetts outpost.
- Other tier 1 labs: We found no partnership with OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft or Meta.
What to Watch Next
- A registered clinical trial and first patient dosed.
- Naming of a first development candidate and its disease area, with oncology the likeliest based on its hiring.
- A peer-reviewed paper on the Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine with blinded benchmarks on targets outside its training data.
- Whether the funding talks reported at $40 billion or more close, and at what price.
- Any Lilly or Novartis milestone payment or candidate nomination announced publicly.
Related: our AI healthcare breakthroughs tracker, the Google DeepMind health timeline, our profile of the Nobel laureates around Isomorphic Labs, our report on AI-designed drugs in human trials and our guide to the AI drug discovery stack.
What This Means for You
If you are a patient, nothing from Isomorphic Labs is available to you yet, and it will be years before any of its drugs could be approved even if early trials go well. Funding is not efficacy: the $2.7 billion raised so far pays for the attempt, not the result.
If you work in research or care, AlphaFold 3 is a real, peer-reviewed tool, and independent tests say to check its predictions hardest on targets unlike anything in its training data. Treat statements about Isomorphic’s newer engine and pipeline as company-reported until papers and trial data appear. The first trial registration will be the clearest sign of progress.
Compiled by Healthcare Discovery from company announcements, named news reports and PubMed. Every PMID on this page was checked against PubMed on October 28, 2026. Evidence levels follow the scale explained in our AI healthcare breakthroughs tracker. Healthcare Discovery uses AI research tools from several companies on this page, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google models; no company listed reviewed or paid for this page.
What is Isomorphic Labs?
Isomorphic Labs is an Alphabet company launched in November 2021 to use AI, starting from Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold work, to design new medicines. It co-developed AlphaFold 3 and partners with Eli Lilly and Novartis.
Who owns Isomorphic Labs?
Isomorphic Labs is part of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Since 2025 it has also taken outside money: $600 million in March 2025, led by Thrive Capital, and a $2.1 billion Series B in May 2026. Bloomberg reported in October 2026 that it was in talks to raise more at a valuation of at least $40 billion.
When will Isomorphic Labs start human trials?
No start date has been confirmed. Reuters reported in January 2026 that Isomorphic had delayed its clinical trial timeline. We found no trial registration or first dosed patient as of October 28, 2026.
Which pharma companies work with Isomorphic Labs?
Eli Lilly and Novartis. Both signed collaborations in January 2024, and Novartis expanded its deal in February 2025. The two deals were reported at nearly $3 billion combined including milestones, most of which depend on future success.
Has Isomorphic Labs proven its AI designs better drugs?
Not yet. AlphaFold 3, which it co-developed, is peer-reviewed, and independent tests rank it among the best tools of its kind while finding it weaker on structures unlike its training data. Its newer drug design engine and drug programs are company-reported only, and none of its molecules has been tested in people.
Does Isomorphic Labs have its own lab?
We could not confirm that it runs its own wet lab. Its published research is computational, and it has offices in London and a Cambridge, Massachusetts outpost reported to be preparing for clinical trials.
Sources
- Yang LY, et al. The LiPP Benchmark Set for Modeling Lipid-Protein Complexes: Comparison of Co-Folding and Docking Methods. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 2026. PMID 42268396
- Stecula A, et al. The rise of AlphaFold in drug design. Progress in Medicinal Chemistry, 2025. PMID 41130640
- Liao Y, et al. Benchmarking Cofolding Methods for Molecular Glue Ternary Structure Prediction. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 2025. PMID 41072002
- Masters MR, et al. Investigating whether deep learning models for co-folding learn the physics of protein-ligand interactions. Nature Communications, 2025. PMID 41053181
- Abramson J, et al. Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3. Nature, 2024. PMID 38718835
- Terwilliger TC, et al. AlphaFold predictions are valuable hypotheses and accelerate but do not replace experimental structure determination. Nature Methods, 2023. PMID 38036854
- Bloomberg. Isomorphic Labs in Funding Talks for Over $40 Billion Value, October 2026. Bloomberg
- Runtime Wire. Isomorphic Labs talks $40B valuation five months after $2.1B round, October 2026. Runtime Wire
- Isomorphic Labs. Isomorphic Labs announces Series B investment round, May 2026. Isomorphic Labs
- Reuters via WHTC. Google-backed Isomorphic raises $2.1 billion to scale AI-driven drug discovery, May 2026. WHTC
- Reuters via WHBL. Google-backed AI drug discovery startup Isomorphic Labs delays clinical trial timeline, January 2026. WHBL
- Isomorphic Labs. The Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine unlocks a new frontier. Isomorphic Labs
- Thrive Capital job board. Medical Director, Clinical Development (Oncology), Cambridge, MA, Isomorphic Labs. Thrive Capital
- Boston Globe. Isomorphic Labs sets up Cambridge outpost, with an eye on clinical trials, June 2025. Boston Globe
- TechCrunch. Alphabet’s AI drug discovery platform Isomorphic Labs raises $600M from Thrive, March 2025. TechCrunch
- Tech.eu. Isomorphic Labs nets $600M in first external funding round, March 2025. Tech.eu
- Isomorphic Labs. Isomorphic Labs announces Novartis collaboration expansion, February 2025. Isomorphic Labs
- Nobel Prize. Press release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024, October 2024. Nobel Prize
- Bloomberg. Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs to Collaborate With Novartis, Lilly, January 2024. Bloomberg
- Fierce Biotech. Alphabet’s Isomorphic stacks two new deals with Lilly, Novartis worth nearly $3B ahead of JPM, January 2024. Fierce Biotech
- Gigazine. Google’s parent company announces that it will launch Isomorphic Labs, a company that develops AI for drug discovery, November 2021. Gigazine
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