Incyte is sticking to its strategy this year of finding “early-stage, exotic stuff”—paying Genesis Therapeutics $30 million upfront to use the biotech’s artificial intelligence platform to develop small molecule medicines against undisclosed targets.
Genesis’ platform, nicknamed GEMS, is designed to produce novel molecules and predict properties such as potency, selectivity and pharmacokinetics. The Burlingame, California-based company has previously linked up with Genentech, Gilead Sciences and Eli Lilly, with the latter deal carrying a potential total value of $670 million for up to five targets.
“AI has the potential to redefine how we discover small molecule medicines, and our team is at the forefront of this revolution,” Genesis CEO Evan Feinberg, Ph.D., said in a Feb. 20 release. “We are pleased to establish this world-class partnership to combine our GEMS AI platform with Incyte’s deep expertise and track record in drug discovery and development, with the shared goal of advancing critical treatments for patients with severe diseases.”
Now, Incyte wants in, offering $30 million upfront for a collaboration focused initially on two targets in severe disease. The Jakafi maker will have the option to expand to an additional target for an undisclosed additional fee. Genesis could be in line for up to $295 million per target in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, alongside tiered royalties.
“Partnering with Genesis Therapeutics presents a unique opportunity to leverage their AI technologies to accelerate the discovery of breakthrough small molecules for high-impact targets in our pipeline,” Incyte’s head of R&D Pablo Cagnoni, M.D., said in the release.
The collaboration is in line with Incyte CEO Hervé Hoppenot’s comment to Fierce Pharma in January that the company will be considering deals this year that cover “new technologies that we don’t have—so, early-stage, exotic stuff.”
Hoppenot also said in the interview that he was looking forward to an eventful 2025, after Incyte recovered from some bad news in its pipeline. The most disappointing development the company faced was perhaps a preclinical toxicology discovery from INCB000262, the crown jewel of Incyte’s $750 million buyout of Escient Pharmaceuticals. As a result of the safety signal, clinical development of the MRGPRX2 inhibitor was put on hold in November, less than six months after the acquisition.
Genesis was born out of the Stanford lab led by Professor Vijay Pande, Ph.D., which focused on applying machine-learning-powered simulations in chemistry, biology and medicine. The biotech raked in a $52 million series A in 2020, followed by a substantially bigger $200 million series B haul in 2023.