UK-based Relation Therapeutics Limited and GSK have announced an expanded research collaboration focused on generating large-scale human cellular perturbation data and deploying it into AI foundation models, including Relation's MORGAN platform, to support disease biology understanding and novel therapeutic target discovery. Under the agreement, Relation may receive up to USD 110 million in combined upfront and success-based milestone payments. No specific drug candidate is involved; the deal is a pre-competitive, data and platform-level collaboration with no named clinical programs at signing.
Relation will generate large-scale perturbation datasets using advanced human cellular disease models and integrated automation systems capable of producing time-resolved, multi-omics readouts at scale. The resulting data will be used to train and refine MORGAN — Multi-Omic Regulatory Genomics using Artificial Neural Networks — Relation's foundation model of cellular perturbation response across disease contexts. MORGAN is designed to model how human cells respond to genetic and pharmacological interventions at multi-omic resolution, converting high-throughput experimental data into target hypotheses grounded in human disease biology. No peer-reviewed publication for MORGAN has been identified in the public scientific record; the platform's described capabilities rest on company disclosures and GSK's financial commitment as indirect external validation.
The USD 110 million figure bundles upfront and success-based milestone payments without disclosing the respective amounts separately. No milestone gate triggers, royalty rates, territorial rights, or equity investment were disclosed in the announcement.
The agreement extends a relationship between the two companies established in December 2024, when GSK paid Relation USD 45 million upfront — including a USD 15 million equity investment — across two multi-program strategic collaborations targeting fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis. Those agreements made Relation eligible for success-based collaboration payments of up to USD 63 million, plus preclinical, development, commercial, and sales milestone payments averaging USD 200 million per target across both deals, along with tiered royalties on net sales. Under that structure, Relation led observational studies to generate functional disease datasets, while GSK retained worldwide development and commercialization rights to any resulting targets. The July 2026 deal is described as an expansion of that existing collaboration, extending the data generation and foundation model training work beyond the original disease indications. GSK's stated rationale in December 2024 was to gain "deep and precise insights into human causal biology" through Relation's platform, a framing consistent with the expanded scope now announced.