Aspire Biopharma faces potential Nasdaq delisting after compliance shortfall
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO - Biotechnology company insitro and Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), a prominent player in the pharmaceuticals industry with a market capitalization of $89.3 billion and strong financial health according to InvestingPro metrics, announced Tuesday they are advancing to the next phase of their collaboration to develop potential treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The extended partnership will utilize insitro’s AI-enabled ChemML platform to design new medicines targeting a novel ALS target identified during the initial phase of their collaboration. The one-year extension may provide up to $20 million in new funding. For investors interested in BMY’s full potential, InvestingPro analysis shows the stock is currently trading below its Fair Value, with 12 additional exclusive ProTips available for subscribers.
According to the announcement, successful delivery of a therapeutic from the collaboration could result in more than $2 billion in aggregate value to insitro through discovery, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties.
The companies stated that their work has already identified novel targets with potential to address underlying ALS biology. The next phase aims to translate these discoveries into medicine candidates using insitro’s drug design platform, which combines AI-driven modeling, medicinal chemistry, and structural biology. BMY brings significant financial strength to this partnership, with $47.7 billion in revenue over the last twelve months and a robust gross profit margin of 74%.
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness, respiratory failure, and death, typically within 3-5 years of diagnosis. The collaboration focuses on identifying shared underlying pathology to potentially develop therapies for both familial and sporadic forms of ALS, with nearly 90% of cases occurring sporadically.
Insitro’s ChemML platform integrates multiple capabilities including proprietary libraries that can generate hundreds of millions of drug-target binding data points, predictive pharmacological property modeling, and AI-driven design processes supported by substantial computing infrastructure.
The collaboration extension builds on a five-year agreement announced in 2020. The information in this article is based on a company press release statement.
In other recent news, Bristol Myers Squibb has received a Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Alzheimer’s drug, BMS-986446, which is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials. This designation aims to accelerate the development of treatments addressing serious conditions with unmet medical needs. Additionally, Bristol Myers Squibb will offer substantial discounts on two of its medications, Eliquis and Sotyktu, starting in 2026, providing more than 40% and 80% reductions from current list prices, respectively, through its direct-to-patient platform.
The company’s Phase 3 EXCALIBER-RRMM study for a new multiple myeloma therapy showed promising results, demonstrating statistically significant improvements in minimal residual disease negativity rates. Meanwhile, SystImmune received a $250 million milestone payment from Bristol Myers Squibb, following the treatment of the first patient in its IZABRIGHT-Breast01 study under their 2023 collaboration. In another development, Veeva Systems’ stock rating was reiterated at Buy by Stifel after Bristol Myers Squibb committed to using Veeva Vault CRM, confirming a previous verbal commitment. These updates reflect Bristol Myers Squibb’s ongoing efforts in drug development and strategic collaborations.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.