Relation collaborates with Novartis on therapeutics for atopic diseases

Relation Therapeutics has announced a multi-program, strategic collaboration with Novartis to discover and advance novel targets for atopic diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, Relation will receive $55 million, comprising an upfront payment, equity investment and additional R&D funding. In addition, Relation is eligible to receive preclinical, development, regulatory, and commercial sales milestones of up to $1.7 billion, along with tiered royalties on net sales of products.

The collaboration pairs Relation’s AI-powered drug discovery platform and human data generation capabilities with Novartis’s deep expertise in immuno-dermatology to identify, validate, and advance potential first-in-class targets in atopic diseases driven by immune dysregulation.

David Roblin, Chief Executive Officer of Relation, said:

Atopic diseases affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Our technology defines the molecular pathways in diseased tissue compared to healthy tissue to help discover possible new therapeutics for medicines. Together with Novartis’s development and commercialization capabilities, we can potentially deliver medicines that transform the standard of care.

Relation’s Lab-in-the-Loop platform integrates state-of-the-art AI with patient-derived multi-omic data and proprietary experimental systems to uncover causal genes and refine target hypotheses. As part of the collaboration, Relation will lead observational studies that generate functional cell atlases - directly from the tissue of patients - capturing the disease state in humans with unprecedented resolution. This approach reduces the risk of clinical failure by ensuring targets are robustly validated before entering the clinic. Novartis will have worldwide development and commercialisation rights to any resulting targets.

Fiona H. Marshall, Ph.D., President, Biomedical Research, Novartis, said:

At Novartis, we are dedicated to harnessing cutting-edge, AI-driven approaches that enhance novel target identification and accelerate drug discovery, delivering innovative medicines for patients in need. Our collaboration with Relation will combine complementary expertise, technologies and capabilities to advance new options for patients living with atopic diseases.

The company also announced a further $26 million investment from existing investors NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm) and deeptech investors DCVC and Magnetic Ventures.

Jason Pontin, General Partner at DCVC, said:

Relation’s unique combination of computation, experimentation, and patient data will reduce failure rates in drug development and transform the way we treat common, devastating diseases. DCVC has supported Relation since its very beginning, and we’re pleased by this further validation of the company’s approach.

Relation is founded on the premise that better success in drug development requires confidence in the biology driving disease. To deliver this ‘confidence in biology’ Relation’s Lab-in-the-Loop platform integrates state-of-the-art AI with patient-derived multi-omic data and proprietary experimental systems to uncover causal genes and refine target hypotheses. Relation develops medicines to clinical value inflection points across a range of therapy areas, all under the central theme of capitalising on better biological understanding. The company’s portfolio spans immunology, metabolic and bone disease.

David Roblin, CEO of Relation, said:

The mission of Relation is clear – to discover the next generation of medicines through technology, transforming patients’ lives. The continued support of our investors strengthens the base from which we will deliver on this mission.