(Toronto, January 20, 2026)— University Health Network (UHN), the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) are joining forces to lead a major international initiative to change how medicines are discovered using artificial intelligence (AI). Canadian partners have secured a $26-million grant through Horizon Europe's Innovative Health Initiative, supporting the
LIGAND-AI project —one of the largest global efforts in open-science drug discovery.
The global consortium, led by Pfizer and SGC, is advancing the project called LIGAND-AI, which brings together 18 public and private sector partners across nine countries. LIGAND-AI will generate open, high-quality datasets of protein-ligand interactions for thousands of human proteins, enabling the training of AI models to predict new drug-like molecules. This work supports Target 2035, a global mission to develop pharmacological tools for every human protein by 2035, catalyzing research and opening new paths to precision therapies.
"This collaboration is about turning data into solutions," said Dr. Brad Wouters, Executive Vice President, Science and Research, UHN. "By combining UHN's translational research strengths with cutting-edge AI and SGC's open-science model, we are building the foundation for faster, more efficient drug discovery that will ultimately deliver better treatments for patients everywhere."
This partnership reflects SGC's vision to catalyze early drug discovery by creating open-access tools, knowledge, and reagents for understudied proteins while advancing UHN's strategic commitment to harnessing cutting-edge technologies to improve health care worldwide. By aligning SGC's global open-science mission with UHN's strong research ecosystem and SickKids' expertise in advanced genomics and rare diseases, this collaboration will drive discovery-focused innovation from molecular level to ensuring that new tools and insights are shared and scaled for maximum impact.
As a founding partner, SickKids will lead the prioritization of disease-relevant targets and drive AI-enabled high-throughput screening to accelerate the discovery and validation of new therapeutic leads.
"LIGAND-AI represents a transformative step for precision therapeutics, powered by Canadian-led science and a commitment to real-world impact. SickKids is proud to help lead this consortium's efforts in identifying disease targets, deploying state-of-the-art technologies for open-access drug discovery and engaging patient representatives alongside academic and industry partners to guide scientific discovery," says Dr. Stephen Scherer, Chief of Research at SickKids. "This collaborative approach, combined with our nation's strengths in research, technology, and open science, sets a new benchmark for how Canadian institutions can harness AI to deliver meaningful breakthroughs for patients worldwide."
Together, UHN, SickKids, and SGC form a uniquely Canadian alliance built on strong collaborations with the University of Toronto, McGill University, and partners across the country.
This initiative is among the first under Canada's new association with Horizon Europe, enabling full participation in EU-funded research and positioning the country at the forefront of AI-driven, open-science drug discovery. It also underscores the need for sustained investment to keep Canadian science globally competitive, accelerate life-saving therapies, and improve health outcomes for patients.
"It's exciting to me that Canada is leading this new public-private partnership in AI and drug discovery. I think this reflects Canada's strengths in this area of science, as well as in our ability to coordinate open, cross-sector, and cross-geography collaborations," says Dr. Aled Edwards, CEO of the SGC.
Beyond discovery, LIGAND-AI will build the next generation of scientific talent, offering hands-on training in AI, data science, and translational research. These programs will not only reinforce Canada's leadership in collaborative, data-driven innovation but also ensure the country develops the expertise needed to shape the future of precision medicine worldwide.
Media Contact
University Health Network
Ana Fernandes, Manager, External Communications
Email:
ana.fernandes@uhn.ca
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
Sarah Warr, Team Lead, External Communications & Public Affairs
Email:
sarah.warr@sickkids.ca
Structural Genomics Consortium
Sofia Melliou, Research Communications Specialist
Email:
sofia.melliou@thesgc.org
About University Health Network
UHN is Canada's Hospital. With 10 sites and more than 44,000 TeamUHN members, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of biomedical research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. UHN has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.
www.uhn.ca
About The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is recognized as one of the world's foremost paediatric health-care institutions and is Canada's leading centre dedicated to advancing children's health through the integration of patient care, research and education. Founded in 1875 and affiliated with the University of Toronto, SickKids is one of Canada's most research-intensive hospitals and has generated discoveries that have helped children globally. Its mission is to provide the best in complex and specialized family-centred care; pioneer scientific and clinical advancements; share expertise; foster an academic environment that nurtures health-care professionals; and champion an accessible, comprehensive and sustainable child health system. SickKids is proud of its vision for Healthier Children. A Better World. Please visit
sickkids.ca.
About the Structural Genomics Consortium
The Structural Genomics Consortium is a global public-private partnership that seeks to accelerate drug discovery by fostering collaboration among a large network of scientists in academia and industry and making all research outputs openly available to the scientific community. The current SGC research sites are located at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Karolinska Institute, McGill University, UCL, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the University Health Network (UHN) and Unicamp, Brazil.
About LIGAND-AI
LIGAND-AI is a flagship project of the Target 2035 initiative, funded by the Innovative Health Initiative, a public-private partnership (PPP) between the European Union and the European life science industries, represented by COCIR, EFPIA (including Vaccines Europe), EuropaBio and MedTech Europe. The LIGAND-AI Consortium is formed by the following partners: Structural Genomics Consortium, University Health Network, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Goethe University Frankfurt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, University College London, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Abcam Limited, AstraZeneca UK Limited, Chemspace LLC, Enamine Germany GmbH, IBM Israel – Science and Technology LTD, Novo Nordisk, Nuvisan ICB GmbH, Pfizer Inc, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, and Vernalis (R&D) Limited.
