Isomorphic Labs Unveils IsoDDE, A Powerful AI Drug-Discovery Engine Outperforming Open-Source Rivals But Locked Behind Proprietary Walls

Feb 22, 2026
nature
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Summary

Isomorphic Labs unleashes IsoDDE, a groundbreaking AI drug-discovery engine that outperforms open-source rivals in predicting drug-protein interactions, but scientists are raising concerns as the powerful DeepMind spin-off keeps its technology fully proprietary, blocking the broader research community from replicating or building on its breakthroughs.

Key Points

  • Isomorphic Labs, a DeepMind biopharmaceuticals spin-off, releases IsoDDE, a powerful proprietary AI drug-discovery engine that scientists are comparing to a hypothetical AlphaFold 4 in terms of its major advancements.
  • IsoDDE outperforms existing open-source models like Boltz-2 and physics-based methods in predicting drug-protein binding affinity and antibody interactions, with particularly impressive results on molecules outside its training data.
  • Unlike previous AlphaFold systems that were made publicly accessible, IsoDDE remains fully proprietary with minimal technical details disclosed, leaving open-source researchers unable to replicate or build upon its breakthroughs.

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