Insilico Medicine and ASKA Pharmaceutical have entered a research collaboration to identify novel therapeutic targets for gynecological conditions including endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Insilico Medicine (HKEX: 3696), a clinical-stage company using generative AI for drug discovery, will deploy its PandaOmics target identification engine to generate and prioritize candidate targets. Tokyo-based ASKA Pharmaceutical, which focuses on internal medicine, obstetrics, and gynecology, will validate the AI-predicted targets for translational potential. The deal expands an existing relationship in which ASKA has been a user of Insilico's AI software (source).
Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. The press release does not specify upfront payments, milestone structures, royalties, or equity components. The absence of disclosed economics is consistent with early-stage research collaborations where the primary deliverable is target nomination rather than compound development or clinical advancement.
Deal context
The collaboration operates at the earliest stage of drug discovery: target identification and validation. No specific drug candidate has been named. Insilico will use PandaOmics, its AI-driven biological data analysis platform, which integrates multi-modal omics data and biomedical text mining to generate disease hypotheses and rank candidate targets. The company recently introduced TargetPro, a framework within PandaOmics that builds disease-specific models to predict which targets are most likely to advance into clinical development. ASKA will then apply its gynecological disease expertise to experimentally validate the computationally nominated targets.
The three indications covered by the deal represent areas with limited mechanistic diversity in approved therapies. Endometriosis affects approximately 190 million women globally according to World Health Organization estimates. Uterine fibroids and adenomyosis affect larger populations and frequently co-occur. Current pharmacological options across all three conditions are dominated by GnRH antagonists, including AbbVie's elagolix (Orilissa) and the Myovant Sciences/Pfizer relugolix combination (Myfembree), both of which are marketed. Adenomyosis has no US FDA-approved specific therapy, with treatment limited to off-label hormonal approaches or hysterectomy.
The collaboration fits within Insilico's broader platform licensing strategy. PandaOmics has been deployed in partnerships with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for gastroesophageal cancer target discovery and with Qilu Pharmaceutical in a deal valued at over HK$931 million. The platform's clinical validation rests on rentosertib, an anti-fibrotic compound targeting TNIK that was discovered by PandaOmics and designed by Insilico's Chemistry42 module. Rentosertib reported positive Phase IIa results in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in November 2024, with data published in Nature Medicine.