FRONTEO and Maruho launch Drug Discovery AI Factory in the field of dermatology...

　FRONTEO Inc. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Board of Director and President: Masahiro Morimoto; hereinafter referred to as "FRONTEO") is pleased to announce that it has begun a co-creation project with Maruho Co., Ltd. (Head office: Kita-ku, Osaka; Representative Board of Director and President: Jun Sugita; hereinafter referred to as "Maruho") to explore drug discovery targets in the field of dermatology using the AI ​​drug discovery support service "Drug Discovery AI Factory (hereinafter referred to as "DDAIF")."

Challenges in
　drug discovery and the significance of this projectDue to the diversification and complexity of target diseases, drug discovery requires the discovery of novel target molecules and mechanisms that are difficult to find using conventional research methods. In addition, it is said that there is a gap in processes and knowledge between dry research (data analysis) using AI and wet research (biological verification) using cells and animals, which has been a factor in hindering the improvement of the speed and success rate of research and development.
　In response to these challenges, FRONTEO and Maruho have launched a co-creation project aimed at target discovery in drug discovery using the AI ​​drug discovery support service "DDAIF". Unlike typical outsourcing formats, in addition to the fact that researchers from both companies work closely together from the early stages of the project, by utilizing "DDAIF", we aim to improve the speed of research and development and the success rate by transitioning to wet research at the optimal time through the search for novel target molecules and early hypothesis generation.
　In this project, Maruho, a pharmaceutical company specializing in dermatology that has continued to respond to the needs of many patients suffering from skin diseases since its founding through drug research, development, production, and information provision activities, and FRONTEO, which has developed an AI drug discovery support service called "DDAIF" by a research team well versed in drug discovery and AI, and has strengths in discovering highly novel targets and generating hypotheses, will combine the knowledge and technologies of both companies to aim to create innovative pharmaceuticals by improving the efficiency and success rate of drug discovery in the field of dermatology.

Comment from Hiroyoshi Toyoshiba, FRONTEO Board of Director/CTO
「皮膚領域に特化し、患者中心の視点に加えて、深くバイオロジーに着目して取り組むマルホ様の創薬アプローチは、FRONTEOの自然言語処理を用いた標的探索手法と技術親和性が高く、興味深い結果を導き出せるのではないかと期待しています。FRONTEOのDDAIFは、創薬研究者とAIエンジニアが一体となり、膨大な情報の中から新たな標的を探索し仮説を創り出すサービスです。アンメット・メディカル・ニーズ*を満たす革新的な医薬品の創出に向け、マルホ様と共創できることを心より嬉しく思います。」＊ 有効な治療方法が見つかっていない疾患に対する、新しい治療薬や治療法などへのニーズ

■マルホ株式会社について　 URL: https://www.maruho.co.jp/大阪市北区に本社を置く、医療用医薬品等の研究・開発・製造・販売を行う製薬企業です。創業は1915年、従業員数は1,620人（2024年9月末）です。2024年9月期の売上高は869億98百万円でした。「あなたといういのちに、もっと笑顔を。」をミッションに掲げ、誰もが笑顔で暮らすことのできる社会の実現を目指しています。

About FRONTEO DDAIFURL: https://lifescience.fronteo.com/products/drug-discovery-ai-factory/"FRONTEO Drug Discovery AI Factory (DDAIF)" is an AI drug discovery support service that combines the knowledge of FRONTEO's drug discovery researchers and AI engineers with "KIBIT" (patented in Japan and the US), an AI specialized in natural language processing. It strongly supports researchers' decision-making in drug development by analyzing disease-related gene networks and building hypotheses about target candidates.The service has already been introduced at several major pharmaceutical companies and is accumulating a proven track record.

■About FRONTEO's co-creation project
In general AI-based drug discovery solutions, the results of dry research (data analysis) and wet research (biological testing using cells, animals, etc.) are often submitted without active exchange of opinions or sharing of sensitive information between the companies in charge of the latter. This is one of the reasons why a smooth transition to wet validation cannot be made.
In this important process of moving from dry to wet, the co-creation project aims to create deliverables that maximize the synergistic effects of incorporating the knowledge and technologies possessed by both FRONTEO and the client company's drug discovery researchers through close collaboration (co-creation) across boundaries.
It is expected that this initiative will also contribute significantly to improving the success rate of clients' drug development in similar projects currently under discussion with multiple pharmaceutical companies.

[Reference: Co-creation project with pharmaceutical companies]・ Metagene Therapeutics and FRONTEO begin joint research into microbiome drug discovery, which is attracting worldwide attention. https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250630・ FRONTEO and Chugai Pharmaceutical launch co-creation project for target discovery using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250515・ EA Pharma and FRONTEO launch co-creation project to explore drug discovery targets using AI, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250512・ FRONTEO and Eisai launch co-creation project for target discovery using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250128・ FRONTEO and Maruishi Pharmaceutical launch a co-creation project for biomarker discovery using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250109・ FRONTEO and UBE launch co-creation project on drug repositioning using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20241114

[Reference: Joint research projects with academia]・ FRONTEO and Tokyo University of Science begin joint research into discovering new drug discovery targets using the Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250513・ FRONTEO and Kumamoto University begin joint research to discover new cancer treatments using Drug Discovery AI Factory, https://www.fronteo.com/pr/20250508

■ About FRONTEO Co., Ltd.　URL: https://www.fronteo.com/FRONTEO supports the judgment of experts in various fields who face social issues day and night through the provision of its proprietary specialized AI "KIBIT," and creates the starting point for innovation. Unlike general-purpose AI, our proprietary natural language processing technology (patented in Japan, the United States, and Europe) enables high-speed and high-precision analysis without relying on the amount of training data or computing power. In addition, by utilizing patented technology that maps (visualizes the structure) the analyzed information, "KIBIT" can directly influence the insights of experts, and in recent years, KIBIT's technology has also been used in hypothesis generation and target discovery in drug discovery.