Chugai Pharmaceutical has signed a joint research and licensing agreement with Singapore-based biotechnology firm Gero to create new antibody drug candidates for age-related conditions.
Their collaboration will utilise Chugai's antibody engineering technologies to develop new treatments for targets identified by Gero's AI platform, which analyses human datasets.
Chugai gains exclusive global rights to research, develop, manufacture and commercialise antibodies for these targets.
Gero CEO Peter Fedichev stated: “Our AI platform is built to identify therapeutic targets that drive multiple age-related diseases and potentially ageing itself.
“In this collaboration, we aim to translate those insights into therapeutics that can help restore the lost function. This partnership with Chugai is an important step toward achieving Gero’s mission: to meaningfully target the biological processes of human ageing.”
The financial terms include an initial payment from Chugai to Gero, with the potential for additional payments totalling up to $250m, contingent on achieving specific development or sales milestones.
If Chugai successfully brings a product to market, it will also pay Gero royalties on sales.
Chugai president and CEO Dr Osamu Okuda stated: “We believe that open innovation with external partners, including leading global players, is extremely important for achieving global first-class drug discovery outlined in our growth strategy toward 2030, TOP I 2030.
“By combining Gero’s target discovery technology with Chugai’s drug discovery technologies, we will accelerate the creation of innovation.”
Gero was represented by Ropes & Gray, with a team led by life sciences licensing partner Hannah England and associate Ian Nilsen, along with IP transactions counsel Ryan Murphey and life sciences licensing associates Mallory Ursul and Ben Ellington.
In January 2025, Chugai and Araris Biotech formed a research collaboration and option-to-license agreement focused on antibody-drug conjugates, valued at up to $780m.
