$100 million+ in “biobucks” for AI-powered drug discovery and longevity research: Q&A
Last week we announced a deal with and the formation of Napa Therapeutics, a spin-off out of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging fueled by Juvenescence and powered by Insilico Medicine’s drug discovery AI platform.
The deal was covered by some of the most respected biopharma analytical houses including Fierce Biotech, BioSpace, BioCentury, Endpoints, Digital Journal and many others.
We received the many questions about this deal but unfortunately, I can not shed any more light on this deal then what is published in the official press releases.
The mention of the NAD+ and metabolism in the press release is primarily due to the Buck’s leading position in this burgeoning field. Dr. Eric Verdin, the CEO of the Buck Institute is one of the top figures in aging research and longevity biotechnology industry of all times with the current H-index of 101 (101 publications with 101 citations) primarily in the NAD+ related space.
The targets are secret and will remain secret until Napa Therapeutics decides to announce it.
On a side note, if you have never visited the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, you are at a loss. It is one of the most beautiful and scenic research institutes in the world. A definite plus is that you can see wild deer, peacocks, wild turkey and all kinds of other animals walking on the territory and on nearby hills. You feel like you are in the future and the future is beautiful. It also has over 250 scientists working in the many areas of aging research. We collaborate with over 200 different scientists worldwide but the Buck is certainly the most beautiful and prolific. It is also working on the AI program for aging research, so if you would like to donate to it like some of the most visionary people in our field, your contribution will be very impactful.
Another frequent question is regarding the $100 million in milestones and royalties. Most of the biotechnology companies exist because of the expectation of successful research results that will yield substantial profits in the future. To see how the licensing deals in this are are structured, please see the PharmaVentures’s “Approaches to Valuation of the Pharmaceutical Licensing Deals”.
The money you receive over time as the therapeutic goes through the various stages of development and the royalties on sales are called “biobucks”. The beauty of the deal with Napa is that we learned to build the financial models around the various interventions in longevity biotechnology using AI-powered drug discovery. And this is very cool because it is now possible to build business cases around pharma AI companies.
In brief, Napa Therapeutics has the best of all worlds: great science out of the Buck, funding and drug hunting and development expertise from Juvenescence and AI and expertise in the advanced bioinformatics from Insilico Medicine.
Let’s wish Napa Therapeutics all the best and all of us will be working hard to turn it int a successful story in longevity biotechnology.
