Health AI & digital therapeutics firm Significo has closed a Series B round led by JSTAR Capital, pushing its valuation to $100 million. The funding will drive product development, global scale, and acquisitions.
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AstraZeneca and Algen Biotechnologies have formed a partnership focused on immunology drug discovery. The agreement gives AZ exclusive rights to develop targets identified via Algen’s AI + CRISPR-based functional genomics engine. Algen receives upfront and milestone payments, and the collaboration aims to speed up early-stage research and improve precision in identifying biologically relevant therapeutic targets.
AstraZeneca has signed a landmark collaboration with San Francisco-based Algen Biotechnologies, valued at up to US$555 million, to accelerate the discovery of new immunology targets.
Under the agreement, Algen will deploy its AlgenBrain platform which integrates AI, machine learning, and CRISPR-based gene modulation to identify and validate disease targets relevant for immune system disorders. AstraZeneca will gain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize therapies against a defined set of these targets.
Financially, the deal involves upfront payments plus additional milestone-based payments tied to regulatory, clinical, and commercial progress. The full deal value (if all milestones are met) could reach US$555 million. AstraZeneca is not taking an equity stake in Algen as part of this deal.
AstraZeneca has emphasized that while it sees AI and ML as powerful tools, this deal is part of a strategy to introduce them carefully into its R&D workflows. Their goal is to improve the translational relevance of targets by grounding discovery in human biology and using robust computational models.
AstraZeneca has emphasized that while it sees AI and ML as powerful tools, this deal is part of a strategy to introduce them carefully into its R& D workflows. Their goal is to improve the translational relevance of targets by grounding discovery in human biology and using robust computational models.
Algen, which spun out of a lab co-founded by Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, will lead the early discovery and target validation; AstraZeneca will handle downstream preclinical and clinical development, regulatory approvals, and commercialization.
This deal reflects a broader pharma/AI trend, where companies are investing heavily in computational genomics and functional screening in order to reduce time, cost, and attrition in early drug discovery, especially in challenging areas like immunology.
“We are using AI and machine learning not just to analyse large datasets, but to expose the biology underneath and pinpoint targets with stronger chances of success.”
By
HB Team
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