Mankind Pharma, one of India's largest drugmakers, has partnered with Denovo Sciences to launch an AI-led drug discovery programme, according to reports across Indian pharma and business outlets including The Economic Times and BioSpectrum India.
Fortune India describes Denovo Sciences as an Armenian startup, and reports the partnership will pair Mankind's research and development capabilities with Denovo's artificial intelligence.
According to IBEF, the collaboration will combine a "human-in-the-loop" AI model with continuous scientific validation. The stated goal is to shorten early-stage drug discovery timelines while improving results. The Hindu BusinessLine reports the effort aims to enhance the quality of drug candidates and reduce the time it takes to find them.
A human-in-the-loop approach keeps scientists actively involved in guiding and checking the AI's work, rather than letting the software run unsupervised. In drug discovery, that matters because the earliest stages — identifying and screening promising molecules — are slow, costly, and prone to dead ends. Companies are betting that AI can narrow the field of candidates faster than traditional lab methods alone.
The available reports frame this as an announcement of intent to work together. They do not specify financial terms, timelines, or which diseases the programme will target.
Why it matters: The deal is another sign that large, established drugmakers — not just tech firms — are wiring AI into the hunt for new medicines, and that this push now spans borders, linking an Indian pharma giant with a startup from Armenia.