AI Proteins, Inc., a biotechnology company that utilizes computational de novo protein design to create therapeutic miniproteins, announced it has entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Astellas Innovation Management LLC, an affiliate of Astellas Pharma Inc., to discover and develop novel miniprotein-based therapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, AI Proteins is eligible to receive over $400 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on net sales of any resulting products.
Under the collaboration, AI Proteins will apply its proprietary AI-driven discovery platform to design and optimize de novo miniproteins against multiple targets. These computationally designed miniproteins combine precise binding activity with sophisticated property engineering beyond what's possible with traditional nature-derived biologics. Astellas holds an exclusive worldwide license to therapeutic candidates that emerge from the collaboration and will be responsible for advancing them through subsequent development, regulatory, and commercialization activities.
“Every biologic medicine on the market today is based on a molecule borrowed from nature that evolved to do something else,” said Chris Bahl, PhD, President, CEO and Founder of AI Proteins. “Designing miniproteins de novo lets us work from the other direction, meaning we specify what a medicine needs to do, then build a molecule from scratch to do precisely that. It's a shift from repurposing to design, and it puts problems within reach that traditional biologics can't solve. Astellas has deep expertise in translating innovative science into medicines, and they're the right partner to carry this forward to patients.”
“At Astellas, we are committed to investing in innovation and emerging technologies that have the potential to transform pioneering science into VALUE for patients,” said Morten Sogaard, Senior Vice President, Astellas Innovation Lab. “Our collaboration with AI Proteins reflects our strategic focus on strengthening our early-stage research pipeline through partnerships that provide access to novel biology, differentiated technologies and new therapeutic possibilities. By combining AI Proteins' advanced de novo protein design capabilities with Astellas' expertise in translating scientific breakthroughs into innovative medicines, we aim to accelerate the discovery of high-quality therapeutic candidates that can help fuel long-term innovation and support our pipeline-led growth strategy.”