Hardly a day passes without another headline announcing a breakthrough in AI. Yet, among the hype, few may know that Hong Kong is home to the world’s first drug to successfully complete Phase II clinical trials that was discovered and designed completely by AI.
Aiming to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic and often fatal lung disease, the drug – known as rentosertib – was developed by Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed Insilico Medicine.
Rather than using AI merely to support human-led research, the company places AI at the core of its delivery model combining chemical and biological analysis with predictions about clinical success — all performed by AI.
With rentosertib successfully demonstrating human efficacy in a Phase II clinical trial, the biotech firm has established itself as a first mover in a field with the potential to revolutionise how new medicines are discovered.
According to Founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov, the key advantage of AI-driven drug discovery lies in dramatically reducing the time to identify viable drug candidates from around 4.5 years to just 12-18 months.
Another benefit is AI’s capacity to innovate. “By analysing large datasets at scale, AI can reduce reliance on individual experience and bias, uncover hidden patterns and generate novel molecules that may not emerge through traditional approaches,” explained Dr Zhavoronkov.
Such approaches can increase the likelihood of successful clinical trials, bringing medicines to market faster and saving years of effort.
Hong Kong’s launchpad role
Founded in 2014 in the United States, Insilico was initially launched as an AI tech firm before pivoting into end-to-end drug discovery in 2019. Since then, the company’s footprint has spread across Greater China, the Middle East and North America, in step with its growing demand for capabilities spanning laboratory operations, software development, sales and regulatory compliance.
In Hong Kong, the headquarters’ coordination and public-facing leadership functions have been key in validating Insilico’s model. The company’s HK$2.27 billion public listing last December attracted cornerstone investors, including Eli Lilly, Tencent and Temasek, and marked a significant breakthrough in the commitment of institutional finance to the firm’s AI-led vision.
“Our landmark IPO – the largest biotech IPO of 2025 – signalled that the public market increasingly sees AI-driven drug discovery as a scalable reality rather than a long-term promise,” said the CEO.
The listing followed years of support from the city’s public bodies. On top of talent subsidies and incubation support from Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation as well as financing rounds led by the Hong Kong Innovation Centre, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) provided ample opportunities for the company to build its international profile.
The HKTDC invited Insilico executives to speak at its flagship Asia Summit on Global Health in Hong Kong on multiple occasions, and in the past year has connected the company with overseas business audiences through major international promotions.
These have included a business mission to the Middle East in 2025 and the HKTDC’s signature promotion Think Business, Think Hong Kong held in Milan in November.
China-enabled, global-facing
Looking ahead, Dr Zhavoronkov points to a robust product pipeline, which includes internally developed drugs as well as out-licensing.
The company’s partners include leading Chinese Mainland and multi-national pharmaceutical companies, demonstrating the power of Hong Kong’s superconnector role and its unique capacity to bridge multiple systems and markets, the Founder noted.
As China’s AI breakthroughs compete for daily headlines, Hong Kong’s deep connections across the nation’s dynamic tech ecosystem place Insilico in pole position of the innovation race.
“In the past, many stakeholders were sceptical of embracing China as a source of new ideas and capability. Today, nearly every discussion touches on how to source innovation from China, collaborate with China, or compete with China,” said Dr Zhavoronkov.
“Insilico has become a case study for building a successful global biopharma company on a China-enabled platform.”
The next Asia Summit on Global Health will be held 11-12 May at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. In 2025, the event was attended by over 2,900 participants from 42 countries and regions and featured over 280 healthcare projects from around the world seeking investment and collaboration.