French pharma company Sanofi has signed a research collaboration and license option agreement with Scottish drug design company Exscientia that focuses on metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

The Dundee-based firm will use its artificial intelligence platform and automated design capabilities to identify and validate combinations of drug targets that could work synergistically and be amenable to its bispecific-small-molecule design strategy, where a small molecule is designed to be compatible with two distinct drug targets.

Exscientia is responsible for all compound design while Sanofi will perform the chemistry synthesis. Further assays, preclinical experiments and subsequent trials for compounds that progress to the clinic will be managed by Sanofi, where the Paris-based company exercises its license option.

Under the alliance, Exscientia will receive research funding in order to identify target pairs with the best combination of chemical compatibility and strong biological relevance. Further funding will be provided for prioritized candidate delivery opportunities. Exscientia could also receive other payments related to non-clinical, clinical and sales milestones with the total payment from Sanofi potentially reaching €250 million.

In addition to Sanofi, Exscientia is also collaborating with other leading biopharmaceutical companies to develop candidate molecules. These include Evotec on immuno-oncology and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Sunvion Pharmaceuticals on the central nervous system.