INSILICO (03696) has reached a global strategic cooperation with Hengtai Biotechnology for over HK$500 million to jointly develop a new blood-brain barrier-penetrating NLRP3 inhibitor.

INSILICO (03696) announced that it has entered into an exclusive license and co-development agreement with Shenzhen Hengtai Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Hengtai Biotechnology), a company jointly incubated by Shenzhen Peng Fu Biopharmaceutical Industry Private Equity Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, for INSILICO's ISM8969 project. Through this collaboration, both parties will accelerate the global development of ISM8969, a novel NLRP3 inhibitor with oral and blood-brain barrier penetrating properties intended for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, INSILICO will grant Hengtai Biotechnology the rights to research, develop, register, manufacture, and commercialize ISM8969 globally, with each party holding 50% of the global rights to the project. Meanwhile, INSILICO will be entitled to receive up to a total of $66 million (approximately HK$514.8 million) in upfront and milestone payments, including an upfront payment of $10 million (approximately HK$78 million) expected to be paid within 30 days of the agreement becoming effective. ISM8969, as a potential best-in-class NLRP3 inhibitor, was discovered and optimized through INSILICO's proprietary generative chemistry engine Chemistry42. The molecule has shown excellent efficacy and safety in preclinical studies, as well as significant anti-inflammatory activity in various disease models. Importantly, ISM8969 has ideal blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration capabilities, allowing it to cross the BBB and potentially benefit the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases. Based on promising preclinical data, INSILICO has identified ISM8969 as the lead preclinical candidate for the project and extensively evaluated the molecule in various neurological disease models.