Absci Corp. (Nasdaq: ABSI) announced Wednesday it has formed a partnership with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EQRx to discover and develop new protein-based drugs.
Absci, based in Vancouver, specializes in drug and disease target discovery, combining synthetic biology and AI. EQRx is a pharmaceutical company that launched in January 2020 to focus on developing and delivering new medicines at “radically lower prices.”
The two companies said they will jointly engineer and develop clinical candidates in oncology and immunology, among other therapeutic areas. Absci might make additional investments at stages of development in exchange for an increased share of product sales.
“This collaboration with EQRx expands the reach of our AI-powered target discovery, drug design and development technology,” Sean McClain, founder and CEO of Absci, said in the announcement.
Absci raised $230 million in July when it went public in an IPO. Forging partnerships is a key to its success, as we reported last month.
Absci shares rose more than 6% on Wednesday to $11.74.
