VantAI and Halda Strike $1B+ AI-Driven Partnership on ‘Hold-and-Kill’ Drugs
Halda Therapeutics and VantAI have entered a strategic research collaboration that could exceed $1 billion in total value, aimed at advancing novel cancer and immunology drugs125.
VantAI will use its machine learning and structural proteomics platform to identify and validate new target-effector pairs for Halda's unique RIPTAC ('regulated induced proximity targeting chimeras') medicines125.
Halda's RIPTAC drugs, described as 'hold-and-kill,' use bifunctional small molecules to bind a tumor-specific protein and an essential effector protein, disrupting vital functions in cancer cells and leading to cell death12.
The partnership includes meaningful upfront payment, milestones across multiple programs, and tiered royalties for VantAI if products reach the market12.
Halda’s lead candidate, HLD-0915, is an oral RIPTAC in testing for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, targeting the androgen receptor and another transcription-regulating protein1.
Halda is led by Yale professor Craig Crews, whose previous work on PROTACs (protein-targeting chimeric drugs) underpinned the founding of Arvinas; RIPTACs extend this idea by holding critical proteins rather than degrading them2.
VantAI's AI-driven Neo-1 model and NeoLink proteomics platform are central to the drug discovery process, helping match tumor targets to effector proteins for Halda12.
Sources:
1. https://www.biospace.com/business/vantai-links-with-halda-in-proteomics-pact-worth-up-to-1b
2. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/vantai-plays-matchmaker-haldas-hold-and-kill-drugs-1b-deal