AstraZeneca has entered a partnership with AI therapeutics company insitro.
Using advanced AI systems, the collaboration will identify novel drug targets and advance the design of new therapeutics for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and cardiomyopathies.
“We know that disease biology is incredibly complex, and one of the most critical decisions in R&D is selecting the right target,” said Sharon Barr, executive VP and head of BioParhmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca. “
This strategic collaboration underscores our commitment to maximising the potential of cutting-edge AI to tackle the root cause of disease. Partnering with insitro, we will use advanced AI to identify the biological drivers of disease to support the rapid discovery of high-quality novel targets, advancing our ambition to deliver the next generation of medicines to patients faster.”
One of the focuses of insitro’s technology will be identifying biological and genetic drivers of disease. insitro will apply its Virtual Human AI platform to identify causal disease biological and advance Astra-Zeneca-nominated targets from discovery through to development.
“MASH and cardiomyopathies are prevalent, underdiagnosed diseases where high-content data holds immense signal for uncovering disease drivers. By applying AI to these complex datasets, we can unlock greater discovery power and reveal novel genetic insights,” said insitro founder and CEO Daphne Koller.
“Our platform simultaneously deconvolutes disease biology and identifies causal drivers of disease pathologies. Partnering with AstraZeneca allows us to pair our deep biological precision with their deep pharmaceutical expertise and scale with potential accelerated advancement of novel programmes through development and to patients.”
Under the terms of the agreement, insitro will receive an upfront payment of $40 million, and is also eligible for up to approximately $1.46 billion in potential development and commercial milestones, plus potential single digit royalties based on global commercial sales.
AstraZeneca will have exclusive worldwide rights to advance selected programmes identified under the collaboration.
