Pharmaceutical companies sign major drug-discovery deals

Major pharmaceutical companies are entering significant new partnerships to accelerate drug discovery for cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic diseases using advanced computational and biological technologies.

Boehringer Ingelheim has expanded its collaboration with Seattle-based Variant Bio to include cardiovascular disease research. This agreement builds upon a previous partnership focused on kidney disease and includes potential payments exceeding $250 million. Variant Bio utilizes its Inference platform, which employs machine learning, large language models, and statistical genetics to identify genetically supported drug targets.

Separately, Swiss drugmaker Roche has signed a deal with Atavistik Bio that could be worth nearly $2 billion. Atavistik Bio will receive $70 million upfront, with additional milestone payments and royalties contingent on development success. The partnership aims to develop oral treatments by using Atavistik’s proprietary technology to target specific protein sites that are often difficult to reach through conventional methods. While Atavistik leads early discovery, Roche will manage subsequent laboratory testing, human trials, regulatory processes, and commercialization.