Ropes & Gray and Fangda Partners advised on a research and development collaboration between SK Biopharmaceuticals and Insilico Medicine to discover AI-enabled drug candidates for neuroimmune disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), in a transaction with a potential value exceeding US$2.5 billion.

Under the collaboration, Insilico Medicine will leverage its proprietary Pharma.AI platform, spanning target validation, generative chemistry and molecule optimization, together with its preclinical drug discovery capabilities, to discover, design and optimize novel candidates for neuroimmune indications. SK Biopharmaceuticals will contribute its development and clinical expertise in neuroimmune disorders and will lead the late-stage development and commercialization of all resulting programs.

Under the terms of the agreement, Insilico is eligible to receive up to US$18 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments. The total potential value of the collaboration exceeds US$2.5 billion, including development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on net sales upon commercialization.

The collaboration was announced at the BIO 2026 International Convention and aims to accelerate discovery timelines and advance next-generation therapies for patients worldwide in areas of significant unmet medical need, including neuroinflammatory, neurodegenerative and rare neurological disorders.

Ropes & Gray advised SK Biopharmaceuticals on the transaction.

The Ropes & Gray team included IP transactions partner David McIntosh, counsel Joshua Talicska and associate Paul Matheke.

Fangda Partners advised Insilico Medicine on the transaction.

Fangda Partners provided comprehensive legal services in connection with the collaboration, including the drafting, negotiation and revision of transaction documents. The Fangda team was led by partners Henry He, Josh Shin and Bella Wang, with support from Jiali Yang and associate Ethel Wang.