Evogene and Tel Aviv University Join to Advance AI in Drug Discovery

Evogene Ltd. and the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery at Tel Aviv University have launched a new joint initiative to accelerate small molecule drug discovery, announced in a press release.

The collaboration is supported by Ramot, Tel Aviv University's technology transfer company. It aims to help scientists and entrepreneurs with expertise in disease biology turn academic discoveries into early stage drug programs. The program combines Evogene's ChemPass AI computational chemistry engine with the Blavatnik Center’s experimental and translational facilities.

At the core of the partnership is an integrated Design, Make, Test, Analyze workflow. Selected projects from Israeli academic labs and venture teams will gain access to Evogene’s generative molecule design and optimization tools, while the Blavatnik Center will conduct experimental validation and screening. This joint framework is intended to improve development efficiency and reduce early stage risk.

Ofer Haviv, President and CEO of Evogene, stated that the collaboration seeks to bridge the gap between advanced academic research and practical drug development. Leah Klapper, Managing Director of the Blavatnik Center, said the partnership integrates biological and computational capabilities to build a complete discovery pipeline for new therapeutic candidates.