EQRx and Absci Announce Partnership to Discover and Develop Next-Generation Protein-Based Drugs

EQRx, a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering important new medicines to patients at radically lower prices, and Absci Corporation the drug and target discovery company harnessing deep learning AI and synthetic biology to expand the therapeutic potential of proteins, today announced a discovery collaboration.

The partnership will leverage Absci’s Drug Creation™ technology for discovery and development activities, along with EQRx’s clinical development expertise and commercial capabilities, to advance next-generation, protein-based therapeutics at more affordable costs for patients. EQRx and Absci will collaborate to jointly engineer and develop several clinical candidates across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology and immunology. At Absci’s option, it may make additional investments at progressive stages of development in exchange for an increased share of product sales.

“Absci’s technology platform enables rapid discovery and production of well-differentiated protein-based drugs that are elusive to other discovery approaches,” said Carlos Garcia-Echeverria, Ph.D., chief of Rx creation at EQRx. “We are excited to work with Absci towards our goal of providing innovative, cost-effective treatment options for patients.”

“This collaboration with EQRx expands the reach of our AI-powered target discovery, drug design and development technology,” said Sean McClain, founder and CEO of Absci. “Together, we look forward to discovering differentiated next-generation biologics, driving efficiencies, and accelerating timelines so that our future medicines can have the biggest possible impact for patients in need.”