Exscientia Announces Expansion of its Current Collaboration with Sanofi to Include Existing Exscientia Programme
- Sanofi adding an Exscientia discovery stage programme into the collaboration speaks to the strengths of Exscientia's AI-driven platform to solve complex drug discovery problems.
- Exscientia is eligible for substantial milestone payments and royalties, indicating the potential value of the collaboration and the novel lead series designed in the programme.
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The recent announcement by Exscientia regarding the expansion of their collaboration with Sanofi represents a significant development with potential financial implications. The inclusion of a new discovery stage programme into their existing partnership could enhance Exscientia's revenue streams through upfront and preclinical milestone payments, which amount to up to $45 million. Additionally, the prospect of further development, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments exceeding $300 million, coupled with tiered royalties on product sales, underscores a lucrative long-term financial outlook for Exscientia.
This strategic move could potentially bolster investor confidence in Exscientia's capability to leverage its AI-driven platform for drug discovery. The financial terms of the agreement, especially the tiered royalties ranging from high-single-digits to mid-teens, are indicative of the value and confidence Sanofi places in the partnership and the expected commercial potential of the resulting products. The upfront payment slated for recognition in Q1 2024 results will likely provide a short-term cash flow boost and could be a positive signal for Exscientia's stock performance, subject to market conditions and investor sentiment.
The strategic alliance between Exscientia and Sanofi is poised to leverage Exscientia's AI-driven platform in the pursuit of a best in class molecule. The term 'best in class' refers to a drug that outperforms existing therapies in terms of efficacy, safety, or other clinically relevant metrics. The preliminary data suggesting good potency and selectivity indicates that the molecule could have a strong therapeutic effect with fewer off-target effects, which is a critical factor in drug development.
The long-term implications of this partnership for stakeholders include the potential acceleration of drug discovery processes, reduction in associated costs and the ability to tackle complex diseases more effectively. The emphasis on high value oncology targets signals a focus on therapeutic areas with significant unmet medical needs, which could lead to substantial benefits for patients and healthcare systems, as well as financial gains for both Exscientia and Sanofi if the drug reaches the market.
The collaboration between Exscientia and Sanofi underscores a growing trend in the pharmaceutical industry towards the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug discovery. Exscientia's AI-driven platform's ability to identify and advance novel lead series is a testament to the potential of AI to streamline the drug development process. This could have industry-wide implications, as other pharmaceutical companies may seek to adopt similar technologies to remain competitive.
Partnerships like this can also influence the strategic direction of pharmaceutical companies, prompting them to invest more in AI capabilities and potentially reshaping the landscape of drug discovery. The success of such collaborations could lead to a shift in resource allocation, with more funding directed towards technology-driven research and development initiatives. This may result in a ripple effect, encouraging innovation and potentially leading to a surge in similar strategic partnerships within the industry.
The programme aims to design a potential best in class molecule by combining Exscientia's research platform with Sanofi's leading development expertise
Exscientia eligible for additional upfront and research stage milestones on top of existing agreement
“Sanofi adding an Exscientia discovery stage programme into the collaboration speaks to the strengths of our AI-driven platform to solve complex drug discovery problems,” said Professor Andrew Hopkins FRS FMedSci, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Exscientia. “The growth of our collaboration is a testament to our strong relationship with Sanofi and our shared vision for AI-enabled drug discovery. As we enter 2024, we expect to continue working with partners to apply our platform capabilities across therapeutic areas while maintaining our internal pipeline focus on high value oncology targets.”
Under the terms of the amended agreement, Exscientia is eligible for up to
About Exscientia
Exscientia is an AI-driven precision medicine company committed to discovering, designing and developing the best possible drugs in the fastest and most effective manner. Exscientia developed the first-ever functional precision oncology platform to successfully guide treatment selection and improve patient outcomes in a prospective interventional clinical study, as well as to progress AI-designed small molecules into the clinical setting. Our internal pipeline is focused on leveraging our precision medicine platform in oncology, while our partnered pipeline broadens our approach to other therapeutic areas. By pioneering a new approach to medicine creation, we believe the best ideas of science can rapidly become the best medicines for patients.
Visit us on www.exscientia.ai or follow us on Twitter @exscientiaAI.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including with respect to the progress of discovery and development of candidate molecules. Any statement describing Exscientia’s goals, plans, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those related to the process of discovering, developing and commercialising product candidates that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics; and the endeavour of building a business around such product candidates. In light of these risks and uncertainties, and other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section and other sections of Exscientia’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 23, 2022 (File No. 001-40850), and other filings that Exscientia makes with the SEC from time to time (which are available at https://www.sec.gov/), the events and circumstances discussed in such forward-looking statements may not occur, and Exscientia’s actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied thereby. Although Exscientia’s forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgement of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by the Company. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements.
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Investor Relations:
Sara Sherman
investors@exscientia.ai
Media:
Oliver Stohlmann
media@exscientia.ai
Source: Exscientia plc
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