Merck KGaA Partners with Biolojic Design in $376 Million AI-Driven Multi-Target Drug Discovery Deal

Jun 04, 2024 20:04 CST Updated 20:04

Biolojic Design

Biopharmaceutical Company

Merck Group

Pharmaceutical R&D Developer

On June 3, Biolojic Design announced a multi-target drug discovery collaboration with Merck. Merck will utilize Biolojic Design's AI-driven discovery platform to develop best-in-class multi-specific antibodies, with the collaboration focusing on immunology and oncology, including ADCs targeting novel therapeutic targets.

Biolojic Design will receive an upfront payment and research funding, and is eligible for milestone payments related to drug discovery, development, regulatory, and commercial progress, potentially totaling up to €346 million (approximately $376 million). Biolojic Design is also eligible for tiered royalties on net product sales.

Biolojic Design, headquartered in Israel, is a company that utilizes computational biology and AI to transform antibodies into programmable smart drugs. The company's platform can generate multi-specific antibodies that function as logic gates performing "and" or "xor" operations.

Biolojic Design's product pipeline focuses on autoimmune diseases and immuno-oncology. Its platform has developed the first AI-designed antibody (AU007) to enter clinical trials, which is currently in Phase II clinical trials. In addition, Biolojic Design has four products in the preclinical stage.

Biolojic Design Pipeline (Source: Biolojic Design Official Website)

In recent years, Merck has continuously engaged in collaborations within the AI pharmaceuticals field. In April this year, Merck announced a partnership with Caris Discovery to accelerate the development of novel ADC drugs. In September last year, Merck signed two AI discovery agreements targeting small molecule drug candidates with prominent AI pharmaceutical companies BenevolentAI and Exscientia. In the same month, Merck also announced the expansion of its agreement with Quris-AI, utilizing the company’s AI platform to assess the hepatotoxicity risks of drug candidates.

References:

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/06/03/2892401/0/en/Biolojic-Design-Enters-into-a-Multi-Target-Drug-Discovery-Collaboration-with-Merck-KGaA-Darmstadt-Germany.html

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