Zealand commits $30m upfront to Generate for AI-led metabolic drug research

Zealand Pharma will pay Generate Biomedicines $30m upfront for two programmes developing protein-based therapies for obesity and other metabolic diseases. The agreement includes $35m in preclinical milestones, a total milestone amount of nearly $1.2bn, royalties and an option for a third programme. Generate will lead research using its generative AI platform, which the biotech says designs proteins with specific therapeutic functions. Zealand will handle subsequent clinical development, regulatory submissions and worldwide commercialisation. The companies have not disclosed the precise chemical targets; the planned therapies are multispecific proteins, expanding Zealand's work beyond small molecules and peptides.