Pharma platform company China Medical System Holdings (CMS) has tapped up existing partner Insilico for a 1.2 billion yuan ($177 million) collaboration aimed at a “mass-market” central nervous system (CNS) indication.
The pact will involve Insilico’s AI platform PandaOmics joining forces with CMS’ “experienced R&D team and deep therapeutic expertise,” according to the July 12 release. While the companies didn’t divulge the specific CNS indication for their latest work, they did hint that it would involve an “innovative mechanism of action” identified by PandaOmics.
Hong Kong-based CMS markets an array of medicines in China, including a methotrexate injection for psoriasis, a diazepam nasal spray for seizures and desidustat tablets for anemia. The company sealed a separate pact with Insilico five months ago that spanned multiple undisclosed projects for CNS and autoimmune diseases.
Feng Ren, Ph.D., co-CEO and chief scientific officer of Insilico, said the February partnership “has been seamless and productive since its inception.”
“In this new program, we value the input from the CMS commercialization team and are proud of the innovative mechanism of action identified by PandaOmics, which streamlines the development of high-potential drugs, enhancing translational efficiency, and accelerating the transition of molecules from 'proof of concept' to life-changing patient therapies,” Ren added.
The latest agreement will see Insilico in line for $177 million in milestone payments as well as a slice of the royalties should a drug make it to market.
CMS Chairman Lam Kong said the company had been “deeply impressed by Insilico Medicine's capability and productivity in AI drug discovery.”
“Insilico Medicine's leadership in AI drug discovery platforms and data-driven R&D is strategically complementary to CMS' capabilities in innovative R&D and clinical translation,” Kong said. “In addition, CMS has built solid strengths in clinical development systems and efficiency regulatory submission expertise, and commercialization network coverage.”
The latest agreement continues a dealmaking streak for Cambridge, Massachusetts-headquartered Insilico following its Hong Kong IPO at the end of 2025. In CNS alone, the company penned an agreement with Fosun Pharma’s Hygtia Therapeutics in January to split rights on a brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor initially for Parkinson’s disease, as well as a $2.5 billion biobucks pact with SK Biopharmaceuticals last month.
In March, the AI drug discovery specialist also expanded a deal originally signed a year ago with China’s Tenacia Biotechnology to include an additional asset “with defined properties for challenging neurological diseases.”
Beyond CNS, Insilico in March landed a major pact with Eli Lilly worth up to $2.75 billion. Under that project, Lilly paid $115 million upfront to secure exclusive worldwide licenses for certain preclinical oral therapeutics developed with insilico’s platform for undisclosed indications.
Insilico, which has a co-headquarters in Hong Kong, also recently signed a potential $888 million deal with Servier focused on cancer and an up-to-$120 million partnership with Qilu Pharmaceutical targeting cardiometabolic diseases.