Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised BenevolentAI on its recent strategic collaboration with Merck.

The collaboration will use BenevolentAI’s end-to-end AI platform capabilities to deliver novel drug candidates – initially for three targets in oncology, neurology and immunology – and to identify and develop innovative compounds through Hit Identification to pre-clinical stage. Under the terms of the agreement, BenevolentAI will be eligible for payments of up to $594 million, consisting of a low double-digit million dollar upfront payment on signing and then potentially discovery, development and commercial milestones. Tiered royalties will also be payable on net sales of any commercialised products.

BenevolentAI, a Euronext Amsterdam-listed company headquartered in London, is a leading developer of advanced artificial intelligence technologies that unlock the value of multimodal data, surface novel insights, and accelerate biomedical discovery. Merck is a science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany.

The Stephenson Harwood team was led by head of life sciences and partner Alexandra Pygall, who was supported by managing associate Anne Stoffels, associate Ainsleigh Stone and corporate tax partner Shofiq Miah.