French drugmaker Sanofi SA will partner with British AI firm Exscientia Plc to develop up to 15 drug candidates across oncology and immunology, in a deal worth up to $5.2 billion in milestone payments, the two companies said on Friday.
Exscientia, which went public on the Nasdaq in October, uses artificial intelligence to discover drug molecules, especially focused on treating cancer and immune disorders, through partnerships with pharma firms such as Roche and Bristol Myers SquibbSanofi and Exscientia have been working together since 2016, and if the French company commercializes a drug from the partnership, Exscientia will also be eligible for royalty payments of up to 21% of net sales.
"Typically, we have to synthesize 5,000 molecules to find that one right molecule which will be then become the clinical candidate. By applying AI, you can potentially do this by just looking at 500... So that can shorten timelines," said Frank Nestle, global head of research and chief scientific officer at Sanofi.for a 10% to 15% stake in French startup Owkin, whose predictive algorithms aim to improve the research and development of new cures against cancer.