Strategic partnership leverages AI and robotics for novel therapeutics across oncology, immunology, inflammation, neurology, and metabolic diseases.
XtalPi, a leading global technology company in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics for drug and materials discovery, announced a transformative strategic collaboration with DoveTree Medicines, a biotechnology pioneer founded by renowned drug developer Dr. Gregory Verdine. The collaboration, worth up to $5.99 billion, represents one of the largest commitments to date for AI- and robotics-driven pharmaceutical R&D.
Under the agreement, DoveTree gains exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize a portfolio of innovative therapeutics generated through the partnership. XtalPi has received an upfront payment of $51 million and is eligible for $49 million in additional near-term payments, plus development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties totaling up to $5.89 billion.
This collaboration merges XtalPi’s integrated drug discovery capabilities with DoveTree’s deep biological expertise in selecting and validating novel targets of high therapeutic potential. Together, the companies will focus on developing first-in-class candidates across oncology, immunology and inflammatory diseases, neurological disorders, and metabolic dysregulation with significant unmet needs. The partnership will advance DoveTree’s selected pipeline of projects targeting historically challenging mechanisms, with plans to expand joint R&D capabilities in emerging modalities like molecular glue.
DoveTree Medicines was founded by Dr. Gregory Verdine, an internationally esteemed scientist, entrepreneur, and seasoned investor in the biopharmaceutical field, with outstanding achievements in both academia and industry. He has co-founded over a dozen biopharmaceutical companies, including more than five publicly listed firms such as Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Rein Therapeutics, and WaVe Life Sciences. Credited with originating the “drugging the undruggable” concept, Dr. Verdine has pioneered unique molecular glue and peptide technology platforms, successfully applying them to the drug development against “undruggable” proteins such as RAS, Myc, and β-catenin. He has co-developed three FDA-approved drugs, with over a dozen additional candidates currently in clinical development.
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XtalPi has developed an intelligent de novo drug discovery platform that spans small molecules, biologics, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and molecular glues. This multimodal capability enables the efficient exploration of parallel drug development approaches against single targets and unlocks broader chemical space. By integrating quantum physics predictions, AI-driven molecular design, and a large-scale robotic lab-in-the-loop, XtalPi significantly accelerates the drug discovery workflow—from target analysis and molecular generation to affinity prediction, ADMET assessment, and synthesis design—with enhanced accuracy and efficiency. Through extensive partnerships with innovative pharmaceutical companies, XtalPi’s platform has been rigorously validated in real-world projects, accumulating vast datasets of standardized experimental data and high-precision computational data to continuously optimize models within a closed feedback loop.
Dr. Gregory Verdine, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DoveTree, stated: “XtalPi’s unique platform has the potential to transform the profound uncertainties of drug discovery into quantifiable engineering solutions. Their demonstrated ability to innovate at scale makes them a valuable partner in pursuing drug targets that are beyond conventional methods. By merging DoveTree’s biological insights and extensive R&D expertise with XtalPi’s powerful platform, we aim to deliver transformative therapies for patients globally.”
Dr. Shuhao Wen, Chairman of XtalPi, commented: “Dr. Verdine and DoveTree bring exceptional biological acumen, business vision, and a proven track record of translational success, perfectly complementing our platform’s strengths in high-throughput molecule generation, design, and validation. This partnership positions us to accelerate breakthroughs against complex diseases while expanding the frontiers of AI-driven drug discovery. XtalPi remains committed to advancing our core technologies and working closely with leading innovators to help build diverse pipelines of impactful medicines.”
Source: PRNewswire
