Deep Origin and BioAge Labs Team Up on AI Drug Discovery, With First Hits Confirmed in the Lab

Deep Origin, a company that uses AI and physics-based computer models to find new drugs, has announced a collaboration with BioAge Labs, a Nasdaq-listed biotech developing treatments that target the biology of ageing. Deep Origin announced the deal on 14 October 2026 and said it has already reached its first milestone.

The first result

According to Deep Origin, “novel small-molecule hits identified computationally by Deep Origin against a novel BioAge target have been validated in BioAge’s wet lab.” A “hit” is a molecule that shows the activity researchers are looking for and can be a starting point for a drug.

Deep Origin said its platform found “multiple structurally distinct hits against the first target in less than three months.” BioAge is now moving that target into the next stage, called hit-to-lead optimisation. The target has not been named.

How the deal works

Under the agreement, Deep Origin uses its software to find candidate molecules for targets chosen by BioAge. BioAge tests them in its own lab and leads further development. Deep Origin is “eligible to receive success-based milestone payments”. The amounts were not disclosed.

“Deep Origin’s platform delivered high-quality chemical matter against a novel target in just months,” said Kristen Fortney, co-founder and CEO of BioAge.

The company’s own benchmark

Deep Origin described its screening methods in an August 2026 preprint on bioRxiv, which has not been peer reviewed. According to Deep Origin, the preprint reports a “30.6% hit rate on CD73, about 100 times the rate of a previously published machine-learning screen of the same target.” That is the company’s own description of its own work.

What this means

• AI finds, the lab confirms. The AI-picked molecules have passed a real lab test.
• It is still early. Lab hits are a long way from an approved medicine.
• The numbers are the company’s. The hit-rate claim comes from Deep Origin’s own preprint.

Sources

1. Deep Origin, “Deep Origin Announces Multi-Target AI-Driven Drug Discovery Collaboration with BioAge Labs; Validated Hits Confirmed against First Target”, GlobeNewswire, 14 October 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/14/3380645/0/en/deep-origin-announces-multi-target-ai-driven-drug-discovery-collaboration-with-bioage-labs-validated-hits-confirmed-against-first-target.html

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