Roma, 4 giugno 2026 - Using artificial intelligence to design new drug candidates, identifying new therapeutic uses for medicines that are already on the market, and understanding why the same treatment can produce different outcomes in different patients. These are among the key areas covered by a new memorandum of understanding signed by the Italian Medicines Agency (Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco - AIFA) and the Società Chimica Italiana (SCI)which have formally established a three-year strategic collaboration for the first time.
“Bringing together the expertise of the scientific community and the experience of the regulatory authority means strengthening the foundations of pharmaceutical innovation,” said SCI President Luigi Mondello.
“This agreement provides an important opportunity to deepen the dialogue between scientific research and the pharmaceutical sector,” added AIFA President Robert Nisticò. “Working with the Italian Chemical Society will allow us to explore strategic areas for innovation and develop shared perspectives on the challenges shaping the future of medicines.”
According to Stefano Alcaro, President of SCI’s Division of Medicinal Chemistry and promoter of the initiative, “the agreement is designed as an open platform that will enable all relevant expertise within SCI to engage with AIFA on issues that truly matter: access to medicines, appropriate use of therapies, and scientific innovation.”
The partnership covers eight priority areas. Some focus on the most advanced frontiers of pharmaceutical research, while others address pressing challenges facing healthcare systems.
Among the most significant is drug repurposing—the identification of new therapeutic applications for medicines that have already been approved. This approach can dramatically shorten development timelines and reduce costs while helping address unmet medical needs. It is the same strategy that allowed researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic to rapidly evaluate existing drugs against a previously unknown disease.
In the field of drug discovery, the agreement places particular emphasis on digital platforms powered by generative AI. These technologies make it possible to design, screen and optimize potential drug candidates before they are ever synthesized in the laboratory. The same computational approaches can predict critical safety parameters—including toxicity, metabolism and systemic exposure—at a very early stage, reducing reliance on animal testing. This is currently one of the fastest-growing areas of global investment in pharmaceutical R&D, and the agreement aims to strengthen Italian expertise in this field.
The collaboration also addresses several emerging areas of strategic importance. Pharmacomicrobiomics, for example, investigates how the gut microbiome influences drug efficacy and safety, with the long-term goal of tailoring treatments to each patient’s biological profile—a key step toward precision medicine.
Environmental sustainability is another focus. The agreement includes activities related to pharmaceutical residues in water systems and bioaccumulation, issues that are receiving increasing attention from European regulators and policymakers.
Training and talent development will also play a central role. Dedicated programs for young researchers will focus on areas such as artificial intelligence, precision medicine and gender medicine, helping to equip the next generation of scientists with the skills required by a rapidly evolving pharmaceutical landscape and addressing Italy’s long-standing challenge of retaining highly qualified talent.
AIFA and SCI will meet again in September at the 30th National Meeting on Medicinal Chemistry in Messina, where Presidents Mondello and Nisticò are expected to present the first outcomes of their joint initiatives.
