Xeureka Launches Joint Research Collaboration with the Lokey Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz on the Membrane Permeability of Cyclic Peptides

December 16, 2025

Xeureka Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Taisei Nagae; hereinafter “Xeureka”) has entered into a joint research agreement with the Lokey Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) to study the cell membrane permeability* of cyclic peptides.

Professor Scott Lokey is a globally recognized leader in passive membrane permeability research** for cyclic peptides, and his laboratory holds an extensive collection of related data. In this joint project, Xeureka will leverage its proprietary conformational sampling technology*** for medium-sized molecules to analyze unpublished data selected by the Lokey Lab, aiming to identify structural factors that influence membrane permeability.

By combining the Lokey Lab’s experimental expertise with Xeureka’s computational approach, the collaboration seeks to enhance scientific reliability and ultimately develop highly accurate predictive models for membrane permeability.

 

Xeureka employs multiple experts specializing in cyclic peptides and plans to expand its drug discovery support in this field. Through advanced computational drug discovery solutions and large-scale, high-speed computing environments, Xeureka will continue to contribute to improving efficiency and success rates in pharmaceutical research.

 

 

* Cell membrane permeability: The ability of a compound to pass through the cell membrane and reach the intracellular space. In drug discovery, higher permeability is generally advantageous for efficacy and is a key factor in predicting absorption and distribution properties.
** Passive membrane permeability research: A field focused on understanding how compounds cross cell membranes without energy input, critical for assessing drug absorption and intracellular delivery.
*** Conformational sampling technology: A computational method for exhaustively analyzing the three-dimensional structures (conformations) of molecules to predict stable states and dynamic changes, essential for evaluating permeability and binding affinity.

 

 

【About UC Santa Cruz Lokey Laboratory】
UC Santa Cruz is a leading U.S. research institution known for innovative drug discovery studies. The Lokey Lab is globally acclaimed for its work on cyclic peptide membrane permeability and provides pioneering insights into passive permeability mechanisms. They are currently applying these insights toward the discovery of cell permeable ligands against challenging intracellular targets.

 

 

【About Xeureka Inc.】

  • Location: 3-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
  • Representative: Taisei Nagae
  • Established: November 2021
  • Shareholder: Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (100%)
  • Business: Providing AI drug discovery support services and high-performance computing environments (supercomputers) to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as conducting joint research and development for the purpose of drug discovery.
  • URL: https://xeureka.co.jp/en/

 

 

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