Zealand Pharma signs AI obesity drug deal worth up to $1.2 billion

Zealand Pharma signed a deal with Generate:Biomedicines to develop protein treatments for obesity and metabolic diseases using generative AI, according to BioSpace.

Zealand will pay $30 million upfront and up to $35 million tied to early preclinical milestones. Generate could receive further development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, bringing the potential total to nearly $1.2 billion across two initial programs. The agreement also includes tiered royalties on sales.

Generate will conduct research through the selection of lead candidates using its AI platform. Zealand will then manage clinical development, regulatory submissions and worldwide commercialization.