Almirall, a global biopharmaceutical company focused on medical dermatology, and Absci Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing breakthrough therapeutics with generative AI, announced the expansion of their ongoing AI Drug Discovery collaboration with Almirall's selection of a second target aimed at dermatological indications.
Successful First Phase Drives Expansion
The expansion follows the successful delivery of AI-designed, functional antibody leads against a difficult-to-drug target—the first target addressed within the initial collaboration between Almirall and Absci. The original collaboration, announced in November 2023, combines Absci's Integrated Drug Creation™ platform with Almirall's dermatology expertise to accelerate the development of novel and breakthrough therapeutics for chronic and debilitating skin diseases.
"Using advanced AI capabilities to design therapeutic candidates against historically challenging disease targets is a highly promising approach and Absci's de-novo AI platform capabilities have already demonstrated early success," said Dr. Karl Ziegelbauer, Chief Scientific Officer at Almirall. "We are pleased to expand our collaboration as we continue to harness AI to help us develop innovative treatments for patients living with severe skin conditions."
Collaboration Structure and Financial Terms
Under the terms of the collaboration, Absci leverages its generative AI platform combined with its wet lab capabilities to design and validate therapeutic candidates, while Almirall leads the preclinical and clinical development programs of those candidates. Absci is eligible to receive up to approximately $650 million in upfront, R&D, and post-approval milestone payments across both programs, plus royalties on potential product sales.
The partnership structure demonstrates a clear division of responsibilities, with Absci focusing on the AI-driven discovery and early validation phases, while Almirall applies its dermatology expertise to advance candidates through clinical development.
AI-Driven Drug Discovery Platform
Absci's Integrated Drug Creation™ platform combines cutting-edge AI models with a synthetic biology data engine, enabling the rapid design of innovative therapeutics that address challenging therapeutic targets. The company's approach leverages a continuous feedback loop between advanced AI algorithms and wet lab validation, with each cycle refining data and strengthening models to facilitate rapid innovation and enhance the precision of therapeutic designs.
"The progress in our collaboration is a testament that AI de novo drug design is a successful approach to unlock novel biology where traditional drug discovery approaches have failed," said Sean McClain, Founder and CEO of Absci. "We're proud of this milestone and excited to deepen our collaboration with Almirall with the goal of bringing a new generation of AI-created therapeutics for dermatology patients."
Company Profiles and Strategic Focus
Almirall, founded in 1944 and headquartered in Barcelona, is publicly traded on the Spanish Stock Exchange with total revenue of €990 million in 2024 and over 2,000 employees globally. The company's products are available in over 100 countries, focusing specifically on medical dermatology innovations.
Absci is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, with an AI Research Lab in New York City and an Innovation Center in Switzerland. Beyond collaborations with pharmaceutical, biotech, tech, and academic leaders, Absci is advancing its own pipeline of AI-designed therapeutics, including ABS-101, a potentially best-in-class antibody to treat inflammatory bowel disease, and ABS-201, an innovation in hair regrowth for androgenetic alopecia treatment.
