Exscientia is a biotechnology company specializing in AI-driven drug discovery and development. Headquartered in the Schrödinger Building at Oxford Science Park (UK), the company combines experimental human tissue data with artificial intelligence analysis to design patient-specific therapeutic candidates. Exscientia integrates advanced methods such as functional precision oncology, biophysical screening, 3D structure determination, and high-content cellular imaging within a unified platform.

Research and Development Framework

Exscientia’s R&D infrastructure is structured around four interconnected pillars — Precision Target, Precision Design, Precision Experiment, and Precision Medicine — enabling an integrated and optimized drug discovery workflow from target identification to clinical validation.

Using machine learning models that integrate genetic and literature data, Exscientia identifies disease–target relationships and predicts potential patient responses using live tissue assays. The system prioritizes targets with “druggable” structural features suitable for small-molecule interaction.

The company’s proprietary Centaur Chemist® platform automates molecular design at the atomic and bonding level. It generates millions of 2D and 3D compounds, continuously refined through experimental feedback. The design process balances exploration and exploitation, optimizing for efficacy, selectivity, safety, and bioavailability.

To ensure rapid feedback between AI models and experimental data, Exscientia operates over 47,000 m² of laboratory space equipped with surface plasmon resonance (SPR), X-ray crystallography, and transducerome technologies. Fragment-based screening provides high-resolution binding kinetics, while structural biology techniques map ligand-binding pockets for early-stage optimization.

Through functional precision oncology, Exscientia has pioneered the use of living human tissue to predict therapeutic responses. Its EXALT-1 clinical study demonstrated that AI-guided drug selection based on live-cell data can significantly improve patient outcomes. Single-cell profiling allows detailed evaluation of off-target effects and the therapeutic potential of each molecule.

Pipeline

Exscientia’s drug development portfolio reflects its patient-centered, AI-enabled discovery model:

• GTAEXS617 (CDK7 inhibitor) – wholly owned; for advanced solid tumors.
• EXS74539 (LSD1 inhibitor) – for acute myeloid leukemia and small-cell lung cancer.
• EXS73565 (MALT1 inhibitor) – for hematologic malignancies.
• EXS4318 (PKC-theta inhibitor) – for inflammatory diseases; in Phase 1 studies.

Technology and Vision

Exscientia’s integrated system unites AI-based drug design, biophysical analysis, and human tissue testing to accelerate discovery and enhance clinical precision. The company’s long-term goal is to transform therapeutic development through functional precision oncology and molecular engineering, enabling faster and more effective delivery of next-generation, patient-tailored treatments.

The merger between Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Exscientia aims to establish an integrated, global platform in AI-driven drug discovery. Recursion’s experimental biology and data infrastructure is combined with Exscientia’s AI-based molecular design and synthesis capabilities to create an end-to-end drug development system. This integration is intended to enhance research efficiency, reduce development costs, and accelerate the delivery of new therapies to patients.