Edinburgh-based Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising university intellectual property, said on Friday its portfolio company, AI-driven drug discovery firm Exscientia, has entered a collaboration with Bayer AG focused on cardiovascular disease and oncology. 

Exscientia is University of Dundee spinout company.

“Under the terms of the agreement, Exscientia may be eligible to receive up to €240 million including upfront and research payments, and for meeting near term and clinical milestones,” said Frontier IP.

“The company may also receive sales royalties.

“Exscientia’s other partnerships include collaborations with Celgene, GSK, Roche, Sanofi, GT Apeiron, Rallybio and Evotec.

“Frontier IP currently holds a 3.25 per cent stake in the company.”

Exscientia CEO Professor Andrew Hopkins said: “We’re delighted to collaborate with Bayer, a globally recognised pharmaceutical company.

“Since our pioneering Nature papers demonstrating the automated design of small-molecules, we have enhanced our platform and exemplified it commercially, by accelerating the discovery of future drug molecules with partners.”

Dr. Joerg Moeller, member of the executive committee of Bayer AG’s pharmaceuticals division and head of research and development said: “We are driving forward digital transformation in R&D as we believe that digital technologies such as AI can simplify and speed up the discovery and development of new drugs for patients.

“The collaboration with Exscientia is expected to help us to achieve project milestones earlier and at the same time accelerate timelines by enabling more precise identification of suitable drug targets and lead structures.”