January 10, 2022 -- Absci has formed a research collaboration with Merck using Absci's artificial intelligence (AI)-powered integrated drug creation platform. It will deploy its bionic protein nonstandard amino acid technology to produce enzymes tailored to Merck's biomanufacturing applications.
Absci is eligible to receive upfront and certain other milestone payments. Merck has the option to nominate up to three targets and enter into a drug discovery collaboration agreement. Absci would then be eligible to receive up to $610 million in upfront fees and milestone payments for all three targets, as well as research funding and tiered royalties on sales. Absci is a drug and target discovery company that is using deep learning AI and synthetic biology to expand the therapeutic potential of proteins.