SHANGHAI, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Chinese drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical will be responsible for developing metabolic disease drug candidates from Insilico Medicine under a contract with a total value that “approaches” $120 million, the Boston-based drug discovery firm said in a statement on Tuesday.
Insilico, which also has a headquarters in Hong Kong, said the deal would cover the development and commercialization of molecules that it would design and optimize using a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
The deal underscores China’s continued reliance on overseas technology, despite a 2024 United Nations report finding the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market was far ahead of other countries in generative AI inventions like chatbots.
Insilico, listed in Hong Kong as Insilico Medicine Cayman TopCo, has engaged in partnerships with drugmakers like Eli Lilly as the pharma sector doubles down on AI with hopes that it can help slash costs and timelines.
Qilu’s products benefit about 1.5 billion patients annually, Insilico said in its statement.
“Insilico is a well-known biotech in AI-powered drug R&D with advanced AI technology and application capabilities,” said Weikang Tao, Qilu’s head of global research and development, in a statement provided by Insilico. “This collaboration marks a deepening of our partnership, evolving from initial software licensing to in-depth, R&D collaboration.”
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
