AstraZeneca Forms AI Collaboration in China, Third Harmonic Advances Liquidation Plans, and Insmed Raises $750 Million in Stock Offering.

AstraZeneca has formed a collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group in China to use AI technology to discover oral drugs for immunological diseases and chronic conditions. The deal includes a $110 million upfront payment and up to $5.2 billion in additional milestones. Third Harmonic Bio has received shareholder approval for a liquidation plan, which could see stockholders recoup $5.30 to $5.44 per share. Insmed has raised $750 million in a public stock offering, following positive Phase 2 study results for its experimental drug. UCB plans to build a new biologics manufacturing plant in the US, creating around 300 jobs and a $5 billion economic impact.

AstraZeneca has entered into a significant strategic research collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group Limited, based in Shijiazhuang City, China. The partnership aims to leverage advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to discover and develop novel oral drug candidates for immunological diseases and chronic conditions [1].

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca and CSPC will collaborate on high-priority targets, with a focus on developing pre-clinical candidates for multiple indications. The collaboration will be carried out by CSPC at its Shijiazhuang City campus, utilizing its AI-driven, dual-engine efficient drug discovery platform [1]. This platform employs AI to analyze binding patterns of target proteins with existing compound molecules and conduct targeted optimization to select highly effective small molecules with excellent developability [3].

The financial considerations of the agreement include an upfront payment of $110 million to CSPC. Additionally, CSPC is eligible to receive up to $1.62 billion in potential development milestone payments and up to $3.6 billion in sales milestone payments, along with potential single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of the products [1, 2]. AstraZeneca will have rights to exercise options for exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize candidates identified under this agreement [1, 2].

This collaboration marks AstraZeneca's continued expansion in China, following its $2.5 billion investment in Beijing earlier this year. The deal also underscores AstraZeneca's commitment to innovation and its strategy to tackle chronic diseases that impact over two billion people globally [1, 2].

References:
[1] https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2025/astrazeneca-enters-into-collaboration-with-cspc.html
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/astrazeneca-agrees-research-deal-worth-084039290.html
[3] https://www.pharmtech.com/view/astrazeneca-partners-on-ai-enabled-research-with-cspc-pharmaceuticals