Insilico Medicine and Hygtia Therapeutics Partner to Advance AI-Discovered NLRP3 Inhibitor

Insilico Medicine and Hygtia Therapeutics have entered an exclusive global license and co-development agreement for ISM8969, an AI-designed NLRP3 inhibitor targeting CNS disorders.

The collaboration gives both companies equal worldwide rights, while accelerating ISM8969 toward clinical development.

Deal snapshot

• Asset: ISM8969, an oral, brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor
• Rights: 50:50 global ownership
• Financials: Up to USD 66 million in upfront and milestone payments
• Upfront payment: USD 10 million, payable within 30 days

Development responsibilities

• Insilico Medicine
  • Leads IND submission
  • Executes Phase 1 clinical trial
  • Initial focus on Parkinson’s disease
• Hygtia Therapeutics
  • Takes over later-stage clinical development
  • Manages global regulatory filings
  • Leads manufacturing and commercialization

This phased handover aligns scientific innovation with long-term development execution.

Why ISM8969 matters?

The NLRP3 inflammasome plays a central role in neuroinflammation. Its dysregulation is linked to diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Despite strong biological rationale, no NLRP3-targeted therapy is currently approved. ISM8969 aims to close that gap.

What differentiates ISM8969?

• Discovered using Chemistry42, Insilico’s generative AI platform
• Orally available, enabling patient-friendly dosing
• Strong blood–brain barrier penetration, a key CNS hurdle
• Demonstrated robust efficacy and safety in preclinical models
• Designed specifically for neuroinflammation-driven diseases

BBB penetration remains a major failure point in CNS drug development. ISM8969 was engineered to overcome it.

Strategic rationale

For Insilico, the deal validates AI-driven discovery moving into shared global development. For Hygtia, the program strengthens its neuroscience pipeline with a potential best-in-class asset. The structure balances innovation risk while preserving long-term upside for both parties.

Executive perspective

Insilico highlighted the scientific difficulty of achieving safe BBB-penetrant NLRP3 inhibition. The company sees ISM8969 as a solution designed for that exact challenge. Hygtia emphasized alignment with its strategy to build globally competitive CNS assets through selective partnerships.

The bigger picture

• Reinforces AI-generated molecules entering serious CNS pipelines
• Highlights renewed interest in neuroinflammation targets
• Shows early-stage risk sharing becoming standard in high-science programs

If successful, ISM8969 could set a benchmark for AI-discovered CNS therapeutics.

Optimize Your trial insights with Clival Database.

Are you exhausted from the uncertainty of trial insights pricing? Clival Database ensures the clarity in the midst of the global scenario for clinical trials to you.

Clival Database is one of the best databases that offers an outstanding number of clinical trial data in terms of 50,000+ molecules and from primary regulatory markets as well as new entrants like Indian and Chinese markets.

With Clival, you get accurate positioning of historical sales data, patent database, company profiling, safety & efficacy, and prediction of launch of new innovative molecules helping you to align your research and driving down the cost.

To add value, we further break down our analytics for you so that improving your operational effectiveness; optimizing your clinical trials; and offering you accurate and high-quality data at lowest possible prices becomes possible.

Elevate your trial success rate with the cutting-edge insights from Clival database.

Check it out today and make more informed sourcing decisions! Learn More!