Swiss pharma giant Novartis has signed a strategic, multi-program collaboration with London-based, AI-powered biotech Relation Therapeutics. The deal could be worth up to US$1.7 billion if all milestones are met.
The pharma giant makes use of Relation’s so-called “Lab-in-the-Loop” platform, a system combining cutting-edge artificial-intelligence approaches with patient-derived multi-omic data and proprietary experimental models to unearth causal genes and prioritize novel therapeutic targets.
Under the agreement, Novartis will deliver an initial package of US $55 million, through upfront cash, equity investment, and additional R&D funding.
If the collaboration yields viable drug candidates, Relation stands to receive preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments pushing the total potential value of the pact to $1.7 billion plus tiered royalties on eventual sales.
In the near term, Relation will lead observational studies that leverage patient tissue samples to build functional cell atlases of immuno-dermatology conditions. The cell-atlas approach is designed to help pre-validate the most promising targets before candidates even enter clinical development thereby improving the odds of success in a notoriously challenging disease area.
Novartis retains worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any therapies that emerge from the collaboration. The move enhances the company’s already robust dermatology portfolio, which includes brands like Cosentyx and Xolair and builds on its recent regulatory win with BTK inhibitor Rhapsido for chronic hives.
According to Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., President of Biomedical Research at Novartis, the pact “underscores our commitment to harnessing advanced, AI-driven approaches that accelerate target identification and drive the discovery of innovative medicines for patients in need.”
Relation’s CEO David Roblin echoed the sentiment, emphasising the synergy between Relation’s molecular and experimental capabilities and Novartis’ drug-development and commercialization muscle.
Relation itself is relatively young. Founded in 2019, the biotech had raised around $60 million in seed funding before today’s agreement. Initially, the company aimed at osteoporosis treatments, but pivoted to broader therapeutic target discovery. Late last year, it had inked another collaboration, this time with GSK, to identify targets for fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis, backed by a $45 million upfront investment.
This deal underscores a growing trend: major pharmaceutical companies increasingly rely on AI-enabled “techbio” firms to mine complex biological data especially multi-omic and patient-derived data, in pursuit of first-in-class therapeutic targets. If successful, the Novartis-Relation collaboration could set a benchmark for future immuno-dermatology R&D.
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