London-listed Frontier IP Group (AIM:FIPP) told investors on Friday that its portfolio company, Exscientia, had entered into a collaboration deal worth up to £203 million with global pharmaceutical giant Bayer to leverage AI in drug discovery.
Specifically, the collaboration will aim to accelerate the discovery of small molecule drugs focused on cardiovascular disease and oncology, the statement detailed.
Under the terms of the deal, Exscientia, of which Frontier owns a 3.25% stake in, will initially work on three projects applying its Centaur Chemist™platform which uses AI to identify new drugs.
The group is eligible to receive up to €240 Million including upfront, research and clinical milestone payments as well as possible sales royalties.
Shares in Frontier IP Group were trading 4.51% higher at 69.5p on Friday midday.
“Since our pioneering Nature papers demonstrating the automated design of small-molecules, we have enhanced our platform and exemplified it commercially,” said Professor Andrew Hopkins, CEO of Exscientia.
Dr. Joerg Moeller of Bayer AG’s pharmaceutical division and Head of R&D emphasised the value in progressing technologies which can “simplify and speed up the discovery and development of new drugs for patients.”
“The collaboration with Exscientia is expected to help us to achieve project milestones earlier and at the same time accelerate timelines by enabling more precise identification of suitable drug targets and lead structures,” he added.
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