Red-hot generative AI specialist Insilico Medicine has teamed up with another major biopharma player, this time linking up with CDMO Bora Pharmaceuticals.
The collaboration, which could ultimately be worth $2.5 billion, the companies said, is another in a rush of drug discovery deals forged by Insilico. Others this year that have either joined forces or upped their ante with the 12-year-old Massachusetts biotech include Eli Lilly, Servier, Takeda and SK Biosciences.
The newest partnership, which covers multiple targets, combines Insilico’s proprietary Pharma.AI drug development platform with Bora’s development, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities to “explore a next-generation drug innovation model,” the companies said.
Insilico’s platform spans target discovery, generative chemistry and molecule optimization. By linking these capabilities with Bora’s automation-driven operations, the companies are hoping to design novel molecules for diseases where unmet need remains.
Taipei-based Bora is also looking for the collaboration to enhance its “AI literacy across the organization,” it said, seeking improved efficiency in its manufacturing, supply chain, distribution and corporate operations.
Bora CEO Bobby Sheng called the partnership an “important step” as the company evolves from a “leading pharmaceutical development and manufacturing partner into a broader drug innovation ecosystem.”
“We have an opportunity to create a truly integrated pathway from discovery to commercialization,” Sheng added. “AI is already transforming drug discovery, but its full potential will only be realized when that transformation extends across the entire development and manufacturing value chain.”
Insilico says it typically takes 12 to 18 months for its platform to churn out a preclinical candidate (PCC), as opposed to the industry standard of 2.5 to 4 years. Since 2021, the company has nominated 31 PCCs, with 13 receiving Investigational New Drug (IND) approval or clearance.
“This alliance represents an important step toward demonstrating how AI-discovered medicines can be developed faster, more efficiently, and with greater scalability,” Insilico CEO and founder Alex Zhavoronkov, said in a release.
Lilly was one of the first companies to link up with Insilico, signing an AI licensing software deal in 2023 before inking another $100 million deal nine months ago. In March of this year, the companies kicked their collaboration up a notch with a $115 million agreement, which they said could be worth $2.75 billion once milestones kick in.
Two weeks ago, Insilico partnered with Takeda in a deal worth $60 million up front and $600 million in potential milestones. In June, Korea-based SK Biosciences hopped on the Insilico bandwagon, paying $18 million up front in another deal that could be worth $2.5 billion in biobucks, the companies said.
For its part, Bora has been on a recent growth jag, which includes a $210 million buyout of Minnesota generics manufacturer Upsher-Smith in 2024, which allowed the company to plant its flag in the United States.
Bora followed with deals of $30 million for a fill-finish plant in Baltimore from Emergent in 2024 and a $127 million acquisition two months ago of the CDMO business and manufacturing operations of Maryland-based MacroGenics.