Exclusive Interview with Ren Feng: Behind the $1.2B Partnership — Why Sanofi Chose Insilico Medicine

VBInsight has learned that on November 8, InSilico Medicine, an AI-driven clinical-stage drug discovery company, announced a multi-year, multi-target drug development collaboration with Sanofi.

The agreement includes upfront payments and target discovery fees totaling no more than $21.5 million, as well as additional R&D and commercial milestone payments, with a total potential value of up to $1.2 billion.The collaboration will also provide staged royalty payments ranging from mid-single digits to low double digits for the commercialization of successfully developed products. Under the terms of the agreement, the partnership will leverage InSilico Medicine’s AI-driven Pharma.AI drug discovery platform to advance the development of candidate drugs targeting six innovative targets.

From securing a multi-million-dollar upfront payment in a R&D collaboration with Fosun Pharma this January, to finalizing another major partnership with a multinational pharmaceutical company featuring a substantial upfront payment in November, this journey not only marks a significant step in InSilico Medicine’s path to self-validation but also serves as an important milestone for Chinese AI-driven drug discovery companies in gaining recognition from large pharmaceutical firms and stepping onto the global stage.

Among the many top AI drug discovery companies, why did InSilico Medicine stand out to become a partner of Sanofi? At what stage is the “path to self-validation” for China’s AI+drug discovery industry? To answer these questions, VBInsight conducted an exclusive, immediate interview with Dr. Ren Feng, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of InSilico Medicine.

VBInsight: Has this major collaboration proceeded smoothly? How long did the two parties communicate? From which dimensions were discussions conducted?

Ren Feng:Establishing this collaboration was no easy feat; the entire process was jointly driven by the business development and R&D teams from both sides, taking approximately eight to nine months from initial informal contacts to the present. Large multinational pharmaceutical companies typically dedicate substantial time to conducting due diligence on potential partners before formalizing collaborations. Sanofi was no exception: they not only gained a comprehensive understanding of our platform but also invested significant effort in evaluating our team, partnerships, and prior success stories.

Arterial Network New Medicine: What Questions Did Sanofi Raise When Screening Partners?

Ren Feng:The communication between the two parties involved highly specific issues, and we are unable to disclose details in this regard. During the initial discussions, the parties exchanged views on the areas that InSilico Medicine’s AI platform could address, butWhat impressed us even more was that Sanofi also placed significant emphasis on asking about the aspects we could not address.. We once considered this to be a highly challenging or detrimental issue, but we ultimately discovered that the aspects unaddressable by positive feedback are precisely those that better demonstrate focus and expertise.

VBInsight: What Traits Do Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies Value in AI-Driven Drug Discovery Firms? Why Does InSilico Medicine’s Technology Platform Stand Out?

Ren Feng:We believe there are several advantages. First, our AI platform is delivered as a software solution, allowing partners to freely operate and test it. There has been considerable skepticism in the industry regarding whether drug molecules are predicted by AI or by humans; providing hands-on experience and trial opportunities serves as the most effective response to such doubts.

Secondly, while many AI platforms focus solely on chemical molecule generation, InSilico Medicine’s artificial intelligence platform extends both upstream and downstream, covering early-stage target discovery and late-stage prediction of clinical trial outcomes. From the perspective of early drug development, it can not only generate molecules for existing targets but also discover and evaluate novel targets.

Furthermore, I personally believe that multinational pharmaceutical companies place significant emphasis on evaluating a team’s background, track record of successful cases, and project leadership capabilities during communications. They adopt a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach to assessment, rather than relying on single criteria or dimensions.

VBInsight: What is the significance of this collaboration with Sanofi for the development of InSilico Medicine? What will be InSilico Medicine’s next strategic focus?

Ren Feng:InSilico Medicine has been striving to gain industry recognition. We have adopted a three-step strategy: first, to validate the effectiveness of our proprietary artificial intelligence technology platform; second, to leverage the AI platform to efficiently generate high-quality R&D pipelines capable of advancing to clinical stages; and third, to further secure industry recognition through collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies, thereby demonstrating the powerful enabling role of AI in drug discovery.

Earlier this year, we signed an R&D collaboration agreement with Fosun Pharma featuring a multi-million-dollar upfront payment. Within less than a year, we subsequently completed another R&D partnership with a multinational pharmaceutical company, carrying a potential value of up to $1.2 billion. We regard these collaborations as significant milestones on our path to self-validation. Looking ahead, we aim to see projects developed through our AI platform also expand into global markets, and we are currently seeking opportunities to license out some of our more mature assets to international pharmaceutical companies.

VBInsight: There are relatively few AI drug discovery companies in China like InSilico Medicine that have gained recognition from multinational pharmaceutical giants and secured major collaborations. What do you think are the reasons for the limited international influence of Chinese AI drug discovery firms? How can they expand their global presence?

Ren Feng:Currently, the Chinese AI-driven drug discovery companies with notable international influence are primarily those established earlier, such as InSilico Medicine, XtalPi, and Iceberg. Globally, well-known companies like Exscientia, Recursion, BenevolentAI, Relay Therapeutics, and Atomwise were mostly founded between 2012 and 2015. In contrast, many domestic AI drug discovery companies started later, around 2018–2020, and have not yet had sufficient time to expand their international presence. Enhancing influence requires, on one hand, proactive and positive promotion of existing projects and collaborations—for instance, many of our R&D advancements in AI-driven drug discovery have been publicized internationally—and on the other hand, further expanding international cooperation, including partnerships in drug development and scientific research collaborations with universities.

Arterial New Medicine: What significance do you think this major collaboration holds for other AI drug discovery companies in China?

Ren Feng:We hope this major deal will bolster confidence among China’s AI-driven drug discovery companies. InSilico Medicine has demonstrated its capabilities step by step, culminating in its current collaboration with multinational pharmaceutical firms. This success suggests that other Chinese AI drug discovery companies can gain recognition and even expand globally through similar pathways.If domestic AI-driven drug discovery companies can maximize their technological advantages and establish distinct strengths in a specific area, they are poised to secure high-quality collaborative partnerships.

VBInsight: At what stage do you believe China's AI-driven drug discovery industry currently stands?

Ren Feng:We believe that China’s AI-driven drug discovery industry is in a phase of rapid catch-up. Although there are many publicly listed companies in the AI drug discovery sector abroad, none have yet emerged in China. Furthermore, while overseas AI-driven drug development pipelines comprise more than 70 clinical-stage projects, only InSilico Medicine from China has advanced one project into clinical trials. Nevertheless, in competing with numerous international enterprises, we perceive that the gap is not substantial. We anticipate that next year or the year after, many Chinese AI drug discovery companies will bring numerous projects up to speed.