Insilico Medicine, a clinical stage AI-drive drug discovery company, has penned a multi-year, multi-target strategic research collaboration with Sanofi in a deal valued at $1.2 billion.
Sanofi, headquartered in Paris, France, is a global pharmaceutical company. The research partnership leverages Insilico Medicine’s AI platform, Pharma.AI, to advance drug development candidates for up to six new targets.
Sanofi will pay Insilico Medicine up to $21.5 million to cover the upfront and target nomination fees for Insilico’s end-to-end Pharma.AI platform and gain access to a team of interdisciplinary drug discovery scientists to identify, synthesize and advance high-quality lead therapeutic compounds up to development candidate stage, according to a press release. If key research, development and sales milestones are met, Sanofi will make additional payments up to $1.2 billion. Under terms of the agreement, any products developed have established mid-single to up to low double-digit tiered royalties, as well.
“We are very happy to collaborate with Sanofi, a company with a clear strategy in AI-powered drug discovery,” Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, CEO and founder of Insilico Medicine, said in a statement. “This close collaboration will allow Sanofi to immediately gain the capabilities of one of the top AI startups in addition to enriching their drug discovery pipeline."
The partnership comes after Insilico has raised hundreds of millions of dollars over the past two years, including a recent Series D funding round that netted $60 million in investments.
Sanofi has partnered with AI companies in the past, including Exscientia and Owkin.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Sanofi. Leveraging Sanofi’s strong drug research and development expertise and Insilico’s powerful AI platform, we believe we can accelerate novel therapeutics discovery to address diseases with unmet medical needs,” said Feng Ren, PhD, co-CEO and chief scientific officer of Insilico Medicine. “Together we will use cutting-edge AI technologies to make significant breakthroughs in drug R&D.”
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."