Pierre Fabre and XtalPi Partner on AI-Driven Drug Discovery
Laboratoires Pierre Fabre and XtalPi have agreed to collaborate on discovering clinical drug candidates using artificial intelligence and robotics. The research will focus on oncology, potentially dermatology, and rare diseases.
- Laboratoires Pierre Fabre and XtalPi will collaborate on drug discovery.
- XtalPi will use AI and robotics to develop small-molecule therapeutics.
- Research will focus on oncology, potentially dermatology, and rare diseases.
- Laboratoires Pierre Fabre will select and develop the most promising candidates.
- Financial terms include upfront and milestone payments, but were not disclosed.
AI and robotics for small-molecule research
Under the agreement, XtalPi will use its integrated AI capabilities and robotics platform to design and deliver novel small-molecule therapeutics from scratch against undisclosed targets. The companies said the collaboration will cover a series of research programs.
The partners are targeting challenging and historically difficult-to-treat targets, an area they associate with significant unmet medical need and opportunities for innovative drug discovery. The work is intended to support the identification of potential clinical candidates across oncology and possibly additional therapeutic fields.
Different roles across development
Laboratoires Pierre Fabre will contribute expertise in disease biology, drug discovery, translational research, and clinical development. It will select the most promising compounds and advance them, while taking responsibility for their subsequent clinical and commercial development.
For Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, the agreement adds to its research and development roadmap and strengthens its drug discovery capabilities. For XtalPi, the partnership advances its effort to apply AI and robotics to de novo drug discovery.
Raymond Zheng, XtalPi's Head of Integrated Drug Discovery, said the partnership combines XtalPi's AI and robotics capabilities with Laboratoires Pierre Fabre's established expertise in therapeutic development. Francesco Hofmann, Head of Pharma Research and Development at Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, described XtalPi's AI expertise as an important addition to the company's research and development roadmap for data and AI, as well as its discovery platform.
Financial terms remain undisclosed
The agreement includes an upfront payment, several milestone payments, and a later economic participation. The companies did not disclose specific financial terms.
The announcement does not identify the targets or provide results from the research programs. Its immediate significance is the division of responsibilities: XtalPi will apply AI and robotics to generate potential compounds, while Laboratoires Pierre Fabre will evaluate and develop the most promising candidates through clinical and commercial stages.
