Danish biotech Gubra will help German neighbor Bayer find new peptide treatments for kidney and heart disorders in a biobucks deal worth up to 216 million euros ($253 million).
The Big Pharma will collaborate with Gubra on researching potential drugs for cardiorenal diseases, or acute and chronic disorders that affect the heart and kidneys. Gubra will provide its machine learning drug discovery platform. The licensing agreement includes an undisclosed upfront payment.
Bayer is already a major player in heart and kidney disorders, having gained an FDA nod for diabetic kidney and heart disease treatment Kerendia in July.
Gubra signed a similarly sized deal, at 250 million euros ($300 million), with Boehringer Ingelheim for obesity treatments in September 2017. The two parties have since followed up with two new collaborations, one in May 2019 and another this past March. Sanofi also linked arms with Gubra on a four-year research program, which ended in 2017.
The lead candidate from Gubra and Boehringer’s first collaboration, from 2017, recently entered a phase 1 trial, the company said last month.
Bayer and its partners have been busy recently. The German giant signed a $1.5 billion deal to acquire Vividion Therapeutics in early August; Bayer-funded Immunitas raised a $58 million series B later that month; and Bayer-backed Pyxis filed for an initial public offering last Friday.