Insilico Medicine vs Valo Health (2026)
Both build small molecule medicines from AI chosen targets and both work with large drug companies, but Insilico Medicine also sells the software it uses and has a candidate in Phase III, while Valo Health sells no software and has yet to take a platform molecule into people. Insilico, listed in Hong Kong, licenses a discovery suite to research organizations: PandaOmics for target identification, Chemistry42 for generative molecular design, inClinico for predicting trial outcomes and further tools for biologics and research writing, running on the client's own choice of cloud. The same models feed more than 40 internal programs. Rentosertib, a TNIK inhibitor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis whose target and molecule came from the platform, published Phase IIa results in Nature Medicine and dosed its first Phase III patient in September 2026, and partners such as Exelixis and Menarini hold rights to out licensed programs. Valo keeps its models in house and offers them through collaborations. It finds targets in de identified patient records with causal inference and statistical genetics, confirms them in human data, designs small molecules in a closed chemistry loop, and lets partners lead clinical development while it retains royalties. A research organization that wants AI discovery tools on its own cloud, or a partner looking for out licensed clinical assets, will look at Insilico. A drug maker that wants a co discovery partner bringing its own patient data, rather than software to run, fits Valo.
- The research team wants to license target identification and molecular design software.
- Discovery has to run on the organization's own cloud account.
- Clinical proof from a platform designed molecule, now in Phase III, carries weight.
- In licensing a program that already has a candidate is an option.
- The partner wants target discovery done for it rather than software to operate.
- Human patient histories should drive which targets are pursued.
- Payments should track success, with royalties to the discovery partner.
- A collaboration covering many programs in one disease area is the plan.
This comparison is published by AI Health Index, an independent research platform that compares healthcare AI vendors objectively. Insilico Medicine and Valo Health are each graded against the same capability taxonomy, from each vendor's own public materials and the regulatory record, under the AI Health Index verification standard. No vendor pays for placement, and no vendor has reviewed this page. How this evidence is graded
Plain facts
| Fact | Insilico Medicine | Valo Health |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Drug Discovery AI | Drug Discovery AI |
| Founded | 2014 | Not recorded |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Lexington, Massachusetts |
| Website | insilico.com | valohealth.com |
Side by Side
Select any grade to read the note behind it.
Each vendor in one paragraph
Written to be quoted whole. Each paragraph states what the AI Health Index verified about the vendor, with the caveats attached.
Insilico Medicine licenses AI discovery software such as PandaOmics and Chemistry42 and runs more than 40 programs of its own, led by rentosertib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which entered Phase III in September 2026.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Valo Health sells no software: it works as a discovery partner, finding targets in patient data and designing small molecules for drug companies that take them into the clinic.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Questions buyers ask
Can a company buy Insilico Medicine's or Valo Health's software?
Insilico sells licenses to its suite, including a PandaOmics Box for local deployment, through request forms with no published rate card. Valo does not sell software; its models are reached only through discovery collaborations. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
How far have platform molecules from Insilico Medicine and Valo Health advanced?
Insilico reports 13 programs cleared for IND and rentosertib in a Phase III trial. Valo has no platform derived molecule in a clinical study; its Phase 2 SPECTRA study in diabetic retinopathy tested a molecule from outside the platform and did not meet its primary and secondary endpoints. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
What do partners receive from Insilico Medicine and from Valo Health?
Insilico partners can license software, collaborate on discovery or take rights to programs, as Exelixis, Menarini and TaiGen have. Valo partners receive programs advanced through early research, under terms such as Novo Nordisk's: up to $190 million in near term payments and about $4.6 billion in potential milestones. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Related comparisons
Other published head to head assessments involving these vendors or their closest peers. The full set for this category is on the Drug Discovery AI page.
Insilico Medicine is listed in Hong Kong (HKEX: 3696) and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with operations in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Valo Health's headquarters are in Lexington, Massachusetts. Insilico sells software through request forms with no published rate card, and Valo is paid through partnership terms.