TandemAI and Perpetual Medicines Merge to Advance AI and Physics-Driven Drug Discovery
Newly combined company will broaden capabilities in small molecule and peptide therapeutics with expanded leadership and integrated technology platforms
In a strategic move that strengthens innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), physics-based modeling, and drug discovery, TandemAI and Perpetual Medicines today announced a merger that unifies their expertise under one organization. The combined company will operate under the TandemAI name, offering an expanded platform for partners seeking to discover both small molecule and peptide therapeutics.
The merger brings together TandemAI’s robust, AI-enhanced discovery engine with Perpetual’s specialized computational design-synthesis platform for peptide drug development. Together, they aim to unlock new therapeutic opportunities in drug modalities that have traditionally been difficult to design or deliver.
Combining Platforms to Accelerate Drug Innovation
TandemAI has established itself as a leader in using AI and physics-based tools integrated with full-service wet lab infrastructure to enable drug discovery at scale. Meanwhile, Perpetual Medicines has made significant strides in developing an automated platform for the design, synthesis, and optimization of peptide therapeutics.
“This strategic combination is driven by TandemAI’s success in commercializing its physics and AI-based platform for small molecule discovery integrated with wet-lab experimentation,” said Lanny Sun, co-founder of both TandemAI and Perpetual Medicines. “At the same time, we’re seeing rapidly growing interest in next-generation peptide therapeutics, which Perpetual is uniquely equipped to address.”
The merger positions TandemAI as a multi-modality discovery powerhouse, combining core capabilities in chemistry, computation, automation, and biology. The company will provide partners—including pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic institutions—with access to a platform that supports efficient, data-driven discovery from target identification through lead optimization.
Leadership and Organizational Structure
The combined company will continue under the leadership of Jeff He, MBA, co-founder and CEO of TandemAI. Perpetual Medicines will function as a wholly owned subsidiary and separate operating unit within TandemAI.
Key leadership appointments from Perpetual include:
- Kerry L. Blanchard, MD, PhD, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Perpetual Medicines
- Ved Srivastava, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Perpetual Medicines
Together, they bring decades of experience in peptide-based drug development, translational medicine, and pharmaceutical R&D leadership.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
A Track Record of Discovery and Development
Under Jeff He’s leadership, TandemAI has rapidly scaled its operations and impact. In under four years, the company has worked on discovery programs with over 150 partners worldwide, spanning the United States, Europe, and China. These collaborations include both biotech startups and global pharmaceutical companies, as well as academic research groups.
“More than ten of our client programs are expected to enter clinical trials within the next 12 months,” said He. “Our mission has always been to democratize access to advanced AI and physics-based computational tools. With Perpetual’s integrated platform and world-class team, we can now do the same for peptide therapeutics.”
Perpetual Medicines also brings an impressive drug development pedigree. Its leadership team has been instrumental in the discovery and development of several marketed peptide therapies, including:
- Byetta® (exenatide)
- Symlin® (pramlintide)
- Bydureon® (exenatide extended release)
- Trulicity®
- Mazdutide, which is in development in China through a licensed partnership
Dr. Blanchard alone has played key roles in bringing more than 30 new medicines to clinical development and approval in China and has contributed to the regulatory approval of four marketed products.
Synergies in Peptide Drug Discovery
While small molecule discovery has benefited significantly from advances in AI and high-throughput experimentation, peptide drug development remains an emerging frontier, particularly when it comes to oral delivery and structural optimization. The Perpetual platform was created to overcome these barriers.
“Our AI/computational platform is specifically designed to explore uncharted peptide chemical space,” said Dr. Blanchard. “This enables the discovery of novel compounds with improved stability, bioavailability, and receptor specificity.”
Since its founding in 2023, Perpetual Medicines has made rapid progress:
- Built and validated a next-generation computational peptide design and synthesis platform
- Developed automated peptide synthesis capabilities
- Achieved preclinical, in vivo proof-of-concept for an orally available cyclic peptide therapeutic
- Entered into a strategic collaboration with a major U.S. venture capital firm focused on peptide discovery
These achievements set the stage for meaningful synergies with TandemAI’s small molecule and platform chemistry programs.
The Expanding Role of Peptides in Modern Medicine
Peptides have gained renewed attention in recent years due to the success of several blockbuster drug classes, including:
- GLP-1 receptor agonists, used for diabetes and obesity
- IL-23 inhibitors, for inflammatory diseases
- PCSK9 inhibitors, for cholesterol management
These therapies have demonstrated the clinical and commercial viability of peptides, which were once limited by issues such as stability and delivery. Advances in structure-guided design, cyclization strategies, and oral formulation techniques have opened new doors, and companies like TandemAI are now poised to exploit these developments at scale.
“Peptide-based drugs are becoming a major category of next-generation therapeutics,” said Ved Srivastava, PhD. “The ability to discover novel peptides with unique mechanisms of action and drug-like properties is no longer just aspirational—it’s achievable with the right platform.”
Looking Ahead
The newly merged TandemAI is uniquely positioned to deliver value across the drug discovery landscape by merging advanced computation with real-world chemistry and biology. Its expanded capabilities will enable partners to develop molecules that were previously inaccessible, whether due to complexity, cost, or design limitations.
“We are building an engine that unites computation, experimentation, and domain expertise in one streamlined system,” said Jeff He. “This merger is about much more than technology—it’s about accelerating the timeline to bring meaningful therapies to patients.”
As the demand for smarter, faster, and more predictive drug discovery platforms continues to grow, the combination of TandemAI and Perpetual Medicines represents a powerful force at the leading edge of innovation.
About TandemAI
TandemAI is transforming drug discovery by integrating generative AI, physics-based modeling (molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics), AI-powered, next generation SaaS platform, TandemViz™ and largescale chemistry and biology labs. This computation first approach covers the entire drug development process, from target prediction to clinical candidate determination, significantly boosting efficiency and success rates for global pharmaceutical organizations.
In just three years, TandemAI has established a global R&D network across New York, Boston, Shanghai, and Suzhou, serving over 150 biopharmaceutical companies and accelerating more than 50 innovative drug pipelines. The company has achieved 10x revenue growth, earning accolades like “China Innovative Digital Healthcare TOP100,” “Forbes Asia 100 to Watch,” and inclusion in the “Nature Index Global AI Drug Discovery Innovation Landscape.”
TandemViz™, the world’s first one-stop AI-enabled drug discovery platform, integrates computational modules, high-performance computing, and data management, enhancing productivity and accessibility. This platform addresses key R&D challenges, driving rapid wet-dry lab integration and gaining widespread industry recognition. For additional information: https://tandemai.com/
About Perpetual Medicines
Perpetual Medicines is a fully integrated computational peptide therapeutics company that aims to build a next-generation peptide drug discovery engine. The company’s platform combines the predictive power of leading-edge computational physics methods and next-generation AI technologies with advanced synthetic chemistry to access vast, unexplored peptide chemical space. The platform is designed to address previously undruggable targets, accelerate discovery and enhance the quality of peptide drug candidates. The company has operations in Shanghai, China and Boston, MA. Learn more at: perpetualmeds.cn
