Exscientia, Merck KGaA To Discover Drug Candidates Across Oncology, Neuroinflammation & Immunology

(RTTNews) - Exscientia plc (EXAI) said that it has collaborated with Merck KGaA (MKGAY.PK) to discover novel small molecule drug candidates across oncology, neuroinflammation and immunology.

Exscientia stated that the multi-year collaboration will utilize its AI-driven precision drug design and discovery capabilities while leveraging Merck KGaA's disease expertise in oncology and neuroinflammation, clinical development capabilities and global footprint.

As per the terms of the deal, Exscientia will receive an upfront cash payment of $20 million from Merck KGaA and will be eligible for discovery, development, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments of up to $674 million in aggregate, if all milestones for all three initial programs are achieved.

If Merck KGaA commercializes a therapeutic from one of the initial targets of the collaboration, Exscientia will receive tiered royalties on product sales ranging from mid-single-digits to low-double-digits.