(Yicai) Aug. 6 -- XtalPi Holdings’s shares surged after the artificial intelligence-powered drug developer said it has inked a USD6 billion deal with DoveTree, a firm set up by Harvard University chemical biologist and biotech entrepreneur Gregory Verdine, to discover and develop small molecule and antibody drug candidates.

After soaring by as much as 23 percent in Hong Kong trading earlier today, XtalPi’s shares [HKG: 2228] closed 12.4 percent higher at HKD7.42 (95 US cents) each. The stock has gained 24 percent in value since the end of last year.

XtalPi and DoveTree have finalized a deal based on a letter of intent signed on June 23, the Shenzhen-based company announced yesterday. DoveTree will obtain exclusive global rights to therapeutics resulting from the tie-up.

Under the deal, DoveTree will make an upfront payment of USD51 million and an additional USD49 million within 180 days, followed by development and commercial milestone payments plus sale royalties of as much as USD5.9 billion.

"XtalPi will leverage its end-to-end, AI and robotics-driven platform to discover and develop small molecule and antibody drug candidates for multiple DoveTree-selected targets addressing oncology, autoimmune disorders, and neurological diseases,” it said on June 23.

“By integrating XtalPi's cutting-edge AI capabilities with decades of drug development expertise, we have a unique opportunity to deliver transformative therapies to patients worldwide,” Verdine noted.

Harvard’s website biography of Verdine, who is its Erving Professor of Chemistry, describes him as a “pioneer in the field of chemical biology, a serial biotech entrepreneur and a life science venture capitalist.” He has set up more than 10 biotech firms, including New York-listed Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Wave Life Sciences, while three Food and Drug Administration-approved therapeutics bear his imprint: romidepsin, paritaprevir, and glecaprevir.

Chinese pharmaceutical companies are increasingly expanding overseas through technology platform alliances rather than just product exports, industry observers point out. In June, CSPC Pharmaceutical announced a USD5.3 billion AI drug discovery deal with AstraZeneca.

Established in 2015, XtalPi focuses on drug and materials discovery, combining quantum physics, AI, and robotics to provide smart R&D solutions for the pharmaceutical and materials industries.

Editor: Martin Kadiev