Alphabet’s Isomorphic labs to collaborate with Novartis, Lilly on AI-driven drug discovery

Under the terms of the partnership with Lilly, Isomorphic Labs will receive an upfront cash payment of $45 million to collaborate on research into small molecule therapeutics against multiple targets, the company said in a statement. It is also eligible to receive as much as $1.7 billion in performance-based milestone payments, excluding the upfront payment and any subsequent tiered royalties of up to low double digits on net sales.

Isomorphic Labs also entered into an agreement with Novartis to discover small molecule therapeutics against three undisclosed targets. The company will receive an upfront payment of $37.5 million and is eligible to receive as much as $1.2 billion in performance-based milestone payments, according to a separate statement. 

“This collaboration harnesses our companies’ unique strengths, from AI and data science to medicinal chemistry and deep disease area expertise, to realize new possibilities in AI-driven drug discovery,” said Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis.