In a deal with a potential value of $110 million over the next five years, CytoReason has announced an extension of its multi-year partnership with Pfizer.
Pfizer will make a $20 million equity investment under the terms of the agreement which will give the company the right to use CytoReason’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the option to license its platform and disease models as well as fund supplementary project support.
Since launching the collaboration in 2019, Pfizer has used CytoReason’s biological models in its research to enhance the understanding of the immune system, as it develops innovative drugs for immune-mediated and immuno-oncology diseases. CytoReason’s platform has provided Pfizer with multiple insights in research and development programs across more than 20 diseases.
High-resolution models
The new research agreement and investment will support the development of additional disease models and the creation of high-resolution models, spanning across a number of therapeutic areas.
“We’re pleased to expand our strategic collaboration with CytoReason,” said Mikael Dolsten, chief scientific officer and president, Pfizer. “We look forward to continuing our work with the company’s leading scientists, and to leveraging its cutting-edge platform. CytoReason’s biological data allows us to gain deeper insight into the best drug development pathways for patients, resulting in more informed decisions that are timely and cost-effective.”
CytoReason says it has established itself as a global leader in computational modeling of human diseases thanks to its unique ability to combine computational models, proprietary human data, and the AI tools needed to provide actionable insights for accelerating drug development.
About CytoReason’s multidisciplinary team
The company’s multidisciplinary team of 80 biologists, bioinformaticians and data engineers has developed a platform that enables pharmaceutical and biotech companies to prioritize new targets, find biomarkers, and predict which patients may best respond to novel treatments.
David Harel, CEO and co-founder of CytoReason, said: “Pfizer has been a strategic partner of CytoReason since 2019, and we are thrilled to scale our collaboration as one of Pfizer’s trusted AI partners for accelerating drug development.
“This partnership is advancing a significant shift in the biotech industry, and helping drive future research and development for pharmaceutical companies as they continue to use machine learning to develop treatments more efficiently. Transforming complex data into useful actionable insights will potentially provide leading researchers and scientists a roadmap to further develop their drug portfolios.”
CytoReason collects proprietary data from pharmaceutical companies and uses it to simulate human diseases – tissue by tissue, cell by cell.
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