Kips Pharma Invests in UK AI Drug Discovery Firm, Secures Lead in Next-Generation Oncology Pipeline

Kips Biopharma (hereafter Kips Pharma) is accelerating its efforts to secure a global new drug pipeline by making a strategic investment in Amply Discovery Limited (hereafter Amply), a UK-based company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery.

Kips Pharma announced on January 8 that it had recently signed a contract through its biotech subsidiary to acquire 806,653 shares of Amply. The acquired stake represents 5.14% of Amply’s shares.

Alongside the investment agreement, Kips Pharma also signed a separate side letter, securing the right of first refusal (ROFR) for Amply’s oncology program currently under development. The right of first refusal grants Kips Pharma the first opportunity to negotiate if Amply intends to license out or collaborate on its oncology-related technologies or candidate substances with a third party.

Through this arrangement, Kips Pharma now has a range of strategic options, including securing priority or joint development of oncology pipelines discovered via advanced AI platforms, obtaining follow-up technology transfer options with global pharmaceutical companies, and expanding its own pipeline portfolio.

Headquartered in the UK, Amply possesses proprietary AI algorithms and a platform technology that precisely predicts and discovers new drug candidates. Leveraging vast biological data from nature (plants, animals, microorganisms, viruses), Amply is able to design and validate digital-native protein and nucleic acid-based therapeutic candidates.

This platform excels at producing differentiated new-structure candidates while shortening development timelines compared to traditional methods, thanks to its three-stage approach: AI-based target discovery and molecular design, rapid synthesis and iterative experimentation, and short-cycle performance improvement.

Currently, Amply holds multiple preclinical-stage pipelines targeting key areas such as oncology, antimicrobial peptide therapeutics, siRNA gene therapies, and metabolic diseases. Founded in 2021, Amply has demonstrated its capabilities by securing four government projects (worth approximately 3.4 billion KRW) and signing two related joint research partnerships within a short period. Twin Path Ventures, a UK-based venture capital fund specializing in AI and advanced technology, is also a major investor, holding approximately a 12% stake.

Kips Pharma plans to internalize the AI drug development process through regular technical consultations and R&D collaboration with Amply, while maximizing synergies with ongoing research and development projects conducted by its biotech subsidiaries, such as Algok Bio and Kips Biomed.

In particular, Kips Pharma expects to maximize the efficiency of next-generation oral drug development by combining peptide candidates discovered and designed by Amply’s AI platform with Kips Biomed’s oral peptide delivery platform, Oraloid™ technology.

Kim Hayong, CEO of Kips Pharma, stated, "This investment is significant not only as a financial commitment but also because it secures strategic access to future pipelines generated from AI-based drug development platforms. By linking Amply’s technological competitiveness with the Kips Pharma Group’s development strategy, we plan to gradually expand new growth drivers such as oncology and oral drug platforms."