FRONTEO, Inc. FRONTEO and UBE Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Research Utilizing Drug Discovery AI Factory Aimed at Out-Licensing Innovative Drug Discovery Seeds

Tokyo, Japan, 13 November 2025 - UBE Corporation and FRONTEO, Inc. have entered into a basic agreement for joint research aimed at generating and out-licensing drug discovery seeds to pharmaceutical companies.
In this joint research, FRONTEO will utilize its AI drug discovery support service, Drug Discovery AI Factory (“DDAIF¹“), to explore previously unreported relationships between diseases and target molecules. 
UBE will leverage its extensive expertise and technological capabilities accumulated through years of drug discovery research to generate and optimize compounds that act on target molecule candidates discovered through DDAIF.


Through this collaboration, pharmaceutical companies will gain access to target molecules and active compounds with higher probabilities of success and competitiveness, thereby reducing R&D risks, expanding pipelines, and accelerating drug discovery processes. 
The two companies plan to determine the target disease area by December 2025 and commence research in January 2026.

■Background and Significance of the Project

In recent years, the increasing complexity and diversity of diseases have made the identification of new target molecules more difficult. The “depletion” of viable drug targets has become a global challenge. In response, the Japanese government has launched initiatives such as the Public-Private Council for Strengthening Drug Discovery Capabilities² to promote the development of a sustainable drug discovery ecosystem.
However, despite these efforts, challenges remain in terms of feasibility and optimization within the current ecosystem, and a significant gap still exists between research output and economic impact.

This joint research aims to address these challenges and aligns with the government’s policy of enhancing Japan’s drug discovery capabilities. 
FRONTEO and UBE will collaborate closely from the early stages of R&D, combining FRONTEO’s strength in identifying novel target molecules with UBE’s expertise in compound generation and optimization. By seamlessly progressing from target discovery to hit compound identification and validation, the two companies will establish an efficient and practical drug discovery model that contributes to strengthening Japan’s position in global pharmaceutical innovation.

■Comment from Yoichi Funayama, Managing Executive Officer / General Manager of Pharmaceuticals Division, UBE Corporation

“UBE is committed to creating innovative therapeutics that address high unmet medical needs and contribute to human health and well-being. Through last year’s co-creation project on drug repositioning, we witnessed FRONTEO’s exceptional technological capabilities and recognized them as a synergistic partner. In this new collaboration, we will strive to identify novel target molecules and discover breakthrough drug candidates that can deliver effective treatments for diseases with high unmet medical needs.”

■Comment from Hiroyoshi Toyoshiba, Director / CSO, FRONTEO

“FRONTEO excels at using proprietary AI and analytical methodologies to identify highly novel target molecules—those with no previously reported associations to diseases—from unstructured scientific literature. To translate these insights into tangible drug discovery, we need a partner with strong compound generation and optimization expertise. UBE is precisely that partner. By combining our idea generation with UBE’s manufacturing excellence, we expect to achieve innovative drug discovery with unprecedented speed.
As a leading company in AI-driven drug discovery, FRONTEO will continue advancing natural language processing-based AI research and its real-world applications to contribute to the development of innovative medicines and the resolution of unmet medical needs⁷. Guided by our vision to ‘Make Japan a Global Drug Discovery Powerhouse Once Again,’ we aim to help elevate the pharmaceutical industry to a core industrial pillar alongside automobiles and semiconductors, creating a fair world where everyone can access the medicines they need.”

■Notes

1. DDAIF: An AI-based drug discovery support service by FRONTEO, utilizing its proprietary natural language processing technology, KIBIT, and advanced analytical methods to identify target molecules, explore indications, and generate hypotheses supporting drug discovery decisions. https://lifescience.fronteo.com/products/drug-discovery-ai-factory/
   
   
2. Cabinet Office, Government of Japan: Public-Private Council for Strengthening Drug Discovery Capabilities, https://www8.cao.go.jp/iryou/kanmin_kyogikai.html

■About UBE Corporation https://www.ube.com/ube/en/

UBE, which focuses on specialty chemicals, positions its  pharmaceutical business as a core business in the life science field. In drug discovery research aside from traditional small molecule drugs, the Company is also pursuing high-value-added drug discovery, such as ADCs (antibody-drug conjugates)  In its CDMO business, UBE aims to grow its existing small molecule pharmaceutical operations while also providing means to protect people's lives and health by acquiring manufacturing technologies for new modalities such as nucleic acid drugs.

■About FRONTEO, Inc. https://www.fronteo.com/en/

FRONTEO provides its proprietary specialized AI“KIBIT” to support expert judgment across domains confronting social challenges. Its unique natural language processing technology (patented in Japan, the U.S., and Europe) enables fast, high precision analysis without reliance on training data volume or computational power. Additionally, patented technology that maps (visualizes structure) analyzed information allows KIBIT to directly influence expert insights, and in recent years, KIBIT has been applied in hypothesis generation and target discovery for drug development.

To achieve the philosophy of "providing solutions that do not overlook risks and opportunities buried in records and realizing fairness in the information society," FRONTEO is promoting the social implementation of KIBIT's unique technology and AI solutions in the following areas: life science AI, risk management (business intelligence and compliance support, economic security, and legal tech AI), and DX (business intelligence and professional support)

*The technology used in Drug Discovery AI Factory is protected by 21 patents held by FRONTEO in Japan, South Korea, the U.S., and Europe.
**FRONTEO, KIBIT, and Drug Discovery AI Factory are trademarks or registered trademarks of FRONTEO in Japan, Europe, the U.S., and South Korea.