Gilead and Insitro Join Forces to Develop NASH Therapies

Pharma giant Gilead and San Francisco startup Insitro have agreed to a three-year partnership to develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) therapies.

The deal—which grants Insitro $15 million up front and additional milestone payments up to $35 million—allows Gilead to advance up to five targets identified through their collaboration.

The companies will use the Insitro Human (ISH) platform to create NASH disease models and discover targets that contribute to the disease’s clinical progression and regression.

The platform “applies machine learning, human genetics and functional genomics to generate and optimize unique in vitro models and drive therapeutic discovery and development,” the partners said.