AstraZeneca signs up to $555 million deal with US-based Algen to develop gene therapies

(Reuters) -Algen Biotechnologies said on Monday it has agreed to grant AstraZeneca a license to develop gene therapies the U.S.-based biotech discovers using its artificial intelligence-driven platform, in a deal worth up to $555 million. Under the deal, AstraZeneca will get exclusive rights to develop therapies that target immune system-related disorders. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical major will also get the right to sell the treatments, if they get approved, while Algen will get upfront and milestone payments. AstraZeneca has been advancing its cell and gene therapy capabilities through acquisitions and partnerships as it works towards its target of $80 billion in sales by 2030. Globally too, drugmakers are increasingly turning to AI for drug development. The drugmaker in March agreed to buy Belgian biotech EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion, gaining access to technology that modifies immune cells directly inside the body. Monday's deal, however, does not include AstraZeneca buying a stake in the company, Algen CEO and co-founder Chun-Hao Huang told Reuters in an interview. "Together with AstraZeneca's deep expertise in translational science and clinical development, we aim to uncover new biological insights to accelerate the development of novel therapies," Huang said. Algen was spun out from the lab at UC Berkeley, where biochemist Jennifer Doudna pioneered the CRISPR technology that won her the Nobel Prize. The biotech firm's AI platform, AlgenBrain, can map genes to disease outcomes, helping the companies decide their development focus for therapies. The Financial Times had first reported the news. (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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