Sanofi has found a new preclinical research partner in Canadian software company BenchSci, which will provide the French drugmaker an AI copilot as part of a three-year partnership, BenchSci announced in an Oct. 8 release.
Sanofi will use BenchSci’s platform, called ASCEND, across its global preclinical research organization, according to the release. ASCEND combines public scientific information with proprietary internal data to produce knowledge graphs that scientists can use to better understand disease biology.
Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed.
The new deal is part of a broader strategy by Sanofi to adopt AI across its organization, according to the release, including at every stage of R&D.
This AI vision also extends to the pharma’s investment arm, Sanofi Ventures, which recently announced an investment into AI-powered clinical trial simulation company QuantHealth. That investment came after Sanofi announced it was pumping $625 million more into its venture operation.
As for BenchSci, the Toronto-based company was founded in 2015 and raised $8 million in series A three years later. Subsequent fundraising saw that dollar amount increase dramatically, with a 2023 series D bringing in $95 million on the back of the current AI boom.
At the end of last month, BenchSci secured another big partnership with Thermo Fisher to develop new software to help scientists interpret datasets, search literature and select appropriate reagents in the lab.
The ascendant AI outfit welcomed Pfizer R&D vet Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors in July.
By Darren Incorvaia
Source: fiercebiotech.com
One of the most compelling acquisition sagas in the pharma industry in recent times has come to an end, with Pfizer prevailing over Novo Nordisk in a fierce bidding war to acquire obesity biotech Metsera. After mulling over competing offers from both Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, Metsera has decided to go with the former’s $10bn offer.
French industrial group Anjac Health & Beauty has acquired food supplements supplier PharmaLinea and now comprises 17 complementary companies with R&D and production capacities in health, beauty, personal care, and food supplements.
The big pharma company will pay $221.50 per share in cash to buy Cidara, a US biotech that has developed a platform of drug-Fc conjugates (DFCs). The technology has allowed Cidara to build molecules with prolonged half-life whose efficacy does not require an immune response.
