Insilico Medicine, SK Biopharmaceuticals strike $2.5B AI drug discovery deal targeting neuroimmune therapies

Insilico Medicine, the Hong Kong–listed AI drug discovery company, has signed a partnership with Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals to help develop new drugs for neuroimmune conditions in a deal valued at more than $2.5 billion. 

Insilico will use its Pharma.AI platform to help design new candidates for neuroimmune treatments, while SK Biopharmaceuticals will then steer the late-stage development and commercialization of discovered treatments. While Insilico is expected to get $18 million in payments in the near-term, the deal could bring in up to $2.5 billion if the firm reaches certain development and commercial milestones, in addition to royalties. 

The agreement marks Insilico’s largest tie‑up to date with an Asia‑Pacific partner; it’s also the second deal of this size that Insilico has agreed to with Big Pharma. In late March, Insilico signed a deal valued at $2.75 billion with U.S. drug giant Eli Lilly to target the “best-in-class, novel oral therapeutics in preclinical development.” (Andrew Adams, Eli Lilly’s group vice president of molecular discovery, also........

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