Copenhagen, Denmark-based Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) and clinical-stage generative biology company Generate Biomedicines Inc. (NASDAQ: GENB) have agreed to a multi-target strategic collaboration and license agreement to design multispecific protein therapeutics for obesity and other metabolic diseases using Generate's generative AI platform, with Zealand assuming responsibility for clinical development, regulatory submissions and worldwide commercialization.
Generate will receive USD 30 million upfront and up to USD 35 million in early preclinical milestones, and is eligible for total milestones of nearly USD 1.2 billion for the two initial programs, plus tiered royalties on future worldwide net sales. The agreement initially covers two programs, with Zealand holding an option to add a third.
The Generate Platform combines generative AI and computational protein design with high-throughput experimental validation to engineer proteins toward a desired biological function — an approach the company says is intended to address historically undruggable targets and enable polypharmacology. Generate leads research through lead-candidate selection, with Zealand set to take over clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization. Zealand said the collaboration extends its modality capabilities beyond peptides and small molecules, adding AI-designed multispecific proteins to its metabolic disease portfolio.
Generate Biomedicines raised USD 400 million in a February 2026 IPO and has advanced GB-0895, an anti-TSLP antibody, into global Phase III trials for severe asthma.