- Second collaboration builds on rapid progress of AI-designed KAT6 inhibitor licensed in 2024
- Agreement includes $20 million upfront payment with potential total value exceeding $550 million plus tiered royalties
- New preclinical asset demonstrates broad anti-tumor activity across multiple solid tumor types
Less than a year after their first collaboration, pharmaceutical giant Menarini Group and AI-driven biotech Insilico Medicine are deepening their partnership. The companies announced today a second exclusive licensing agreement for an AI-discovered oncology drug candidate. Under the terms of the deal, Insilico will receive a $20 million upfront payment, with a total potential value exceeding $550 million plus tiered royalties. This second alliance follows the successful in-licensing of a preclinical KAT6 inhibitor in 2024, which quickly advanced into clinical development. The new preclinical asset exhibits broad anti-tumor activity across multiple solid tumor types.
According to both companies, this small-molecule inhibitor—identified through Insilico’s generative AI platform—demonstrates promising efficacy across a range of solid tumors.
Menarini’s first licensed therapy, currently in Phase 1 trials, is a potent and selective oral inhibitor of KAT6, an enzyme linked to various cancers. In preclinical models, the therapy—dubbed MEN2312—blocks estrogen receptor activity at the transcription level, potentially overcoming hormone therapy resistance. MEN2312 is being evaluated both as a standalone treatment and in combination with standard of care for metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer.Executives from both organizations underscored the strategic importance of this deal. Menarini Group CEO Elcin Barker Ergun highlighted in a press relaase the rapid progress of their first collaboration—an AI-designed KAT6 inhibitor now in clinical development—as proof of Insilico’s capabilities. Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico, noted that Menarini’s swift and agile approach to advancing oncology therapies makes them an ideal partner to help bring new AI-discovered drug candidates to patients worldwide.
The Menarini-Insilico news comes after a string of setbacks for AI-based drug discovery, including Calico Life Sciences’ ALS treatment (phase 2/3) and Neumora’s depression drug (phase 3), Valo Health’s ROCK inhibitor for diabetic retinopathy (phase 2), and BioAge Labs’ weight-loss drug (Phase 2). But Insilico has been riding a wave of good news over the past few months—announcing multiple new clinical candidates, milestone achievements, and positive Phase 1 trial data.
Filed Under: Data science
