Recursion Achieves $500M Partnership Milestone with Novel Microglial Cell Map for Neurological Disease Research
Key Insights
Recursion received a $30 million milestone payment from Roche and Genentech for delivering a whole-genome phenotypic map of microglial cells, bringing total partnership payments to over $500 million.
The company's CDK7 (search) inhibitor REC-617 established a maximum tolerated dose of 10 mg once-daily in Phase 1/2 trials, with manageable safety profile and preliminary anti-tumor activity in 29 heavily pre-treated patients.
REC-7735 (search), a precision-designed PI3Kα H1047R (search) inhibitor, was nominated as a development candidate and demonstrated significant tumor regressions at low doses while maintaining high selectivity over wild-type PI3Kα.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals has reached a significant partnership milestone, achieving over $500 million in upfront and milestone payments from its strategic collaborations, following a $30 million payment from Roche and Genentech for delivering a novel whole-genome phenotypic map of microglial cells. This achievement places Recursion among a small group of pre-commercial biotechnology companies to reach such scale, underscoring the strength of its AI-driven drug discovery platform.
Strategic Partnership Delivers Neurological Disease Insights
The latest milestone payment from Roche and Genentech follows the acceptance of a whole-genome phenotypic map of microglial cells, which are critical for brain health and implicated in a wide range of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. This represents the second neuro map delivered under the companies' ongoing 10+ year collaboration to discover novel targets and develop potential therapeutic treatments for up to 40 programs in neuroscience and gastrointestinal oncology.
"With the option of our second neuro map in the Roche and Genentech collaboration, we've achieved over $500 million in upfront and milestone payments from our partners to date as we continue to deliver novel insights and advance programs for some of the toughest disease areas," said Chris Gibson, Co-Founder and CEO of Recursion.
Together, Recursion, Roche and Genentech have identified a number of biological insights from the first neuroscience-focused phenomap that could become novel targets of interest. To date, Recursion has achieved $213 million in upfront and milestone payments through this specific collaboration, with Roche and Genentech having already optioned an initial program in gastrointestinal oncology.
Clinical Pipeline Advances with CDK7 Inhibitor
Recursion announced significant progress in its ELUCIDATE Phase 1/2 trial evaluating REC-617, a precision-designed oral CDK7 (search) inhibitor. The monotherapy dose-escalation study established the maximum tolerated dose at 10 mg once-daily, demonstrating a manageable safety profile and preliminary anti-tumor activity.
As of September 29, 2025, 29 heavily pre-treated patients with advanced solid tumors had received REC-617 across six dose levels. Treatment was generally well tolerated, with the most common dose-limiting toxicities being nausea and thrombocytopenia. Grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 27.6% of patients (n=8), with no Grade 4/5 treatment-related adverse events reported. Only 6.9% (n=2) discontinued due to a treatment-related adverse event.
Importantly, REC-617 demonstrated rates of gastrointestinal-related toxicities consistent with best-in-class potential. Common GI toxicities with REC-617 treatment were diarrhea (69%), nausea (41%), and vomiting (28%), comparing favorably to samuraciclib treatment which showed diarrhea (82%), nausea (77%), and vomiting (80%).
REC-617 has shown early anti-tumor activity, including one confirmed partial response and five cases of stable disease. The ELUCIDATE study has now expanded into second-line and beyond platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, with a Phase 2 monotherapy cohort ongoing and a Phase 1 combination arm initiated.
New Development Candidate Targets PI3Kα Mutation
Recursion announced progress on REC-7735 (search), with nomination as a Development Candidate and IND-enabling studies now underway. REC-7735 is a precision-designed PI3Kα H1047R (search) inhibitor generated using the Recursion OS platform. In preclinical studies, REC-7735 demonstrated significant tumor regressions at low doses, outperforming approved agents, while maintaining high selectivity (>100-fold) over wild-type PI3Kα to reduce the risk of dose-limiting hyperglycemia.
"We continued to advance our clinical programs, with REC-4881 in the TUPELO study moving toward additional data later this year. We also progressed REC-617 into its first combination study and nominated REC-7735 (search) as a new development candidate," said Najat Khan, Chief R&D and Chief Commercial Officer of Recursion.
With a differentiated preclinical efficacy and tolerability profile, REC-7735 (search) has the potential to be a best-in-class PI3Kα H1047R (search) inhibitor for breast and other solid tumors harboring this mutation.
Strong Financial Position Supports Development
Recursion maintains a robust financial position with approximately $785 million of cash and cash equivalents as of October 9, 2025, providing runway through the end of 2027 without additional financing. This follows receipt of $387.5 million in net proceeds from the company's At-the-Market facility during the third and fourth quarters of 2025.
The company reported total revenue of $5.2 million for the third quarter of 2025, compared to $26.1 million for the third quarter of 2024. Research and development expenses were $121.1 million for the third quarter of 2025, compared to $74.6 million for the third quarter of 2024, primarily driven by the acquisition of full rights to REC-102 (search) and the business combination with Exscientia.
Upcoming Clinical Milestones
Recursion has outlined several key milestones for its pipeline programs, including additional data from REC-4881 in familial adenomatous polyposis from the Phase 2 TUPELO study expected in December 2025. Early Phase 1 safety and pharmacokinetic monotherapy data for REC-1245 (RBM39 (search)) is expected in the first half of 2026, while REC-3565 (MALT1 (search)) data is anticipated in the first half of 2027.
The company expects potential Phase 1 initiation for both REC-102 (search) (ENPP1 (search)) and REC-7735 (search) (PI3Kα H1047R (search)) in the second half of 2026. Recursion is well positioned for over $100 million in milestone payments by the end of 2026, with multiple programs advancing towards potential development candidate designation over the next 12 months.