Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in generative artificial intelligence (AI) for drug discovery and development, has announced a strategic research partnership with ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“ASKA”), a pharmaceutical firm focused on internal medicine, obstetrics, and gynecology. The collaboration is designed to uncover new therapeutic targets with strong development potential for complex gynecological conditions such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis, using Insilico’s proprietary AI platform, PandaOmics.

Gynecological disorders remain difficult to diagnose and treat, with limited therapeutic options and a significant global health impact. Data from the World Health Organization indicates that endometriosis alone affects around 190 million women worldwide, while uterine fibroids and adenomyosis impact even larger populations, often occurring together and significantly affecting reproductive health.

This partnership brings together ASKA’s expertise in women’s health treatments and Insilico’s advanced AI-powered biological analysis tools to tackle critical unmet medical needs and accelerate innovation. Under the agreement, Insilico will apply PandaOmics to generate and analyze disease hypotheses, while ASKA will carry out validation of the AI-identified targets with strong clinical potential.

The initiative will be led by Insilico’s Target Discovery team, headed by Dr. Frank Pun at its Hong Kong site. The team recently introduced Target Identification Pro (TargetPro), an AI-driven framework that integrates multi-modal data into disease-specific models to speed up target discovery. By identifying context-specific predictive patterns, TargetPro enhances accuracy in selecting targets most likely to progress to clinical development. It not only confirms known clinical targets but also proposes new, high-potential candidates suitable for rapid preclinical validation.

Dr. Frank Pun expressed enthusiasm about leading the collaboration, noting that prior preclinical validation of AI-identified targets in endometriosis highlights AI’s ability to generate meaningful insights within complex disease biology. He added that the latest TargetPro models are expected to support ASKA in advancing next-generation therapies for women globally.

Dr. Shuzo Watanabe, Head of the Innovative Drug Discovery Research Division at ASKA, also welcomed the collaboration, emphasizing the company’s commitment to integrating AI across its research and development processes. He stated that the partnership with Insilico Medicine is expected to accelerate the identification of high-quality and promising drug targets.

ASKA has been a long-time user of Insilico’s AI solutions, and this expanded collaboration builds on that foundation. Together, the companies aim to apply proven AI technologies to better understand the biological complexity of endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis, ultimately paving the way for innovative treatments and reinforcing their shared commitment to advancing women’s healthcare.

Belief BioMed (“BBM”) and Grand Life Sciences Group Co., Ltd. (“Grand Life Sciences”) have entered into an exclusive partnership agreement. As part of the deal, Belief BioMed will provide Grand Life Sciences with commercialization rights for its investigational therapy, BBM-H803, across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

This partnership reflects both companies’ commitment to combining their expertise and resources to speed up the product’s path to market, expand access to innovative treatments for patients with hemophilia A, and support the advancement of gene therapy. The agreement was formalized by Xiao Xiao, Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Science Officer of Belief BioMed, and Zenghui Feng, Chairman of Grand Life Sciences.

Dr. Xiao Xiao stated that Belief BioMed is dedicated to advancing gene therapy, with a pipeline addressing both rare and common diseases to meet significant unmet medical needs. He highlighted the company’s milestone in 2025 with the launch of China’s first gene therapy for hemophilia B, BBM-H901, which introduced a new treatment option for patients. Looking ahead to hemophilia A, he expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, noting that Belief BioMed’s clinical development strengths, combined with Grand Life Sciences’ commercialization expertise, will help accelerate bringing new gene therapies to patients in China.

Zenghui Feng emphasized that the partnership marks an important strategic step in strengthening Grand Life Sciences’ innovative portfolio. By leveraging the blood product resources of its subsidiary, Grand Shuyang, along with its deep experience in hematology, the company aims to work closely with Belief BioMed to advance hemophilia A treatment. He added that integrating advanced research capabilities with established commercialization infrastructure will help improve patient access more quickly, with the ultimate goal of reducing the burden of frequent treatments and minimizing the risks associated with bleeding episodes for patients.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major global health threat, affecting millions of people worldwide and potentially causing even greater disruptions to healthcare if left unaddressed. AMR undermines the effectiveness of preventing and treating a growing number of infections caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi.

Viatris has adopted a comprehensive strategy to combat AMR by ensuring access to over 90 antimicrobial medicines and through active collaboration with global partners. The company is a founding and board member of the AMR Industry Alliance (AMRIA), demonstrating its commitment to advancing sustainable solutions.

In 2024, the United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting among world leaders to secure strong political commitment against AMR, resulting in the adoption of the Political Declaration on AMR. As part of the global dialogue, Viatris, alongside Foreign Policy and other partners, co-hosted a simulation event titled “A World Without Antibiotics – Confronting the Global AMR Challenge.” The session brought together representatives from governments, industry, and civil society to explore strategies to prevent the catastrophic consequences of uncontrolled AMR. During the event, Viatris and AMRIA urged nations to ensure universal, equitable, affordable, and sustainable access to quality-assured antibiotics and diagnostics, while also addressing environmental factors that contribute to AMR.

As co-chair of the AMRIA Access Working Group, Viatris led the creation of the AMRIA Equitable and Responsible Access Roadmap, released in February 2024. Developed through a consultative, evidence-driven process, this roadmap serves as a global policy framework aimed at expanding equitable access to effective antibiotics. It identifies major barriers such as regulatory hurdles, limited diagnostic availability, and procurement challenges, and proposes actionable solutions to overcome them.

Promoting Scalable Models in the Fight Against AMR
In 2024, Viatris partnered with BBC Storyworks to highlight PLATINEA (PLATform for INnovation of Existing Antibiotics)—a pioneering multi-stakeholder initiative in Sweden that unites academia, healthcare institutions, public health authorities, payers, regulators, and the pharmaceutical industry to develop innovative approaches to combat AMR. The campaign showcased how the PLATINEA model could inspire similar collaborations across other regions, stimulating global discussions on scaling such initiatives to strengthen the worldwide response to antimicrobial resistance.