Another new year, another half-billion-biobuck transaction between Insilico Medicine and the Italian drugmaker Menarini Group.
Following a licensing agreement last January—which saw Menarini’s Stemline Therapeutics subsidiary pick up an artificial intelligence-designed breast cancer therapy candidate from Insilico for $12 million upfront and more than $500 million tied to its future successes—the two companies are at it again with a similar deal.
Their second exclusive, global in-licensing covers a second small molecule inhibitor, this time targeting what they described as a variety of solid tumors. According to Insilico and Stemline, the potential drug has successfully completed preclinical testing.
This time, the new deal includes $20 million paid upfront, with more than $550 million linked to clearing development, regulatory and commercial milestones.
“We are thrilled to enter our second collaboration with Insilico Medicine, a leader in the field of generative AI, for a highly selective and potentially best-in-class small molecule targeting a broad range of cancers,” Menarini CEO Elcin Barker Ergun said in a statement. “This asset will help us enter into new areas of high unmet need, expanding the tumor areas where we can help cancer patients with ground-breaking therapies.”
Insilico—a former Fierce Medtech Fierce 15 and Fierce 50 winner—designed the new asset using its Chemistry42 platform for generating druglike compounds. As was the subject of last year’s deal, MEN2312, which aims to inhibit transcription of KAT6 and block the estrogen receptors of breast cancer cells, with the goal of overcoming the tumor’s resistance to endocrine-based therapies.
Stemline has said it is currently evaluating MEN2312 as a single agent and in combination with standard-of-care treatments in patients with metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer.
“Our previous experience with Menarini Stemline proved that the company is efficient, agile, strategic, and committed to rapidly delivering the best novel therapeutic solutions to patients with cancer, maximizing the probability of success of the program,” said Insilico’s founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D.
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