Nabla Bio and Takeda Pharmaceutical have announced a multi-year partnership to expand the use of artificial intelligence in drug design. The deal represents the second major collaboration between the U.S. biotech and the Japanese pharmaceutical giant, following their initial agreement in 2022.
Under the terms, Nabla Bio will receive upfront and research payments in the tens of millions, along with potential milestone payments exceeding $1 billion. The partnership centers on Nabla's proprietary Joint Atomic Model (JAM), a generative AI platform that rapidly designs novel protein therapeutics, including multispecific antibodies and targeted biologics for Takeda's drug pipeline.
Takeda will deploy JAM across early-stage programs focused on complex diseases, leveraging Nabla's integration of generative modeling and advanced laboratory testing, which delivers antibody candidates in as little as three to four weeks. Both companies say the collaboration positions them at the forefront of next-generation drug development, aiming to reduce R&D timelines and costs by harnessing artificial intelligence. Nabla expects data from its AI-designed compounds to enter first-in-human studies within two years. The announcement follows recent strategic moves by Takeda to shift focus away from cell therapy and toward scalable modalities like small molecules and biologics.
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