Owkin signs AI drug discovery deal with Boehringer for cancer, immunology

Sept 2 (Reuters) - AI company Owkin said on Wednesday it has signed ‌a licensing deal with Germany's Boehringer ‌Ingelheim, giving the drugmaker access to its AI research ​platform and patient data to speed up discovery of drugs for cancer and immunity-related diseases.

The deal adds Boehringer to a growing ‌list of drugmakers ⁠using Owkin's AI technology, "K Pro". AstraZeneca licensed it in May, while ⁠Sanofi expanded its partnership with a five-year agreement in June.

• ​The deal ​builds on the ​companies' pilot project in ‌2025, in which Owkin used its patient tumor samples and related biological datasets to help Boehringer prioritize potential drug targets, the AI company's CEO, Thomas Clozel, told Reuters.

• ‌Under the new pact, ​Owkin will license multimodal ​oncology data to ​Boehringer and will generate new ‌data in immunology.

• Owkin licenses, ​sources and ​generates patient data in collaboration with its global patient data network.

• The companies ​did not ‌disclose the financial terms of the ​agreement.

(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Leroy Leo)