AstraZeneca Signs Up For $555 Million AI Deal With Algen To Develop Therapies

AstraZeneca has licensed Algen Biotechnologies' AI-powered gene-editing platform, AlgenBrain, to develop immune-related therapies in a deal worth up to $555 million. Reuters reports: AstraZeneca will get exclusive rights to develop and sell approved therapies, if any, that target immune system-related disorders in exchange for upfront and milestone payments to Algen. AstraZeneca has been advancing its cell and gene therapy capabilities through acquisitions and partnerships as it works towards its target of $80 billion in sales by 2030. Globally too, drugmakers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence for drug development.

Monday's deal, however, does not include AstraZeneca buying a stake in the company, Algen CEO and co-founder Chun-Hao Huang told Reuters in an interview. 'Together with AstraZeneca's deep expertise in translational science and clinical development, we aim to uncover new biological insights to accelerate the development of novel therapies,' Huang said. Algen was spun out from the UC Berkeley lab where biochemist Jennifer Doudna pioneered the CRISPR technology that won her the Nobel Prize. The biotech firm's AI platform, AlgenBrain, can map genes to disease outcomes, helping the companies decide their development focus for targeted therapies.

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