On November 10, 2026 Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: RKV) (FSE: 7JO0) (OTCMKTS: RKVTF), a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative cancer therapies through AI-powered drug discovery, reported that it has entered into a software licence agreement (the "Licence Agreement") with privately held Artemis Therapeutics Inc. ("Artemis") granting Rakovina an exclusive, worldwide and perpetual licence (the "Licence") to use Artemis.AI, Artemis’s artificial intelligence (AI), computational chemistry and machine-learning platform, including its Deep Docking technology, for DNA-damage response (DDR) oncology drug discovery and development.
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The Licence covers the entire DDR oncology field including the targets of Rakovina’s current programs. Rakovina pays for the Licence in two share tranches, with no cash licence fees, royalties or milestone payments, and owns the compounds it discovers.
"This exclusive license for Artemis.AI together with all future platform improvements in the field, creates a durable competitive advantage for Rakovina in the DDR oncology field," said Kim Oishi, Chief Executive Officer of Rakovina Therapeutics. "Just as important are the people behind the platform. Dr. Cherkasov and the Artemis team, led by Frank Holler, have one of the strongest track records in AI-enabled drug discovery, and they will be working alongside Rakovina’s scientists led by Dr. Mads Daugaard. Our team has been further strengthened by the recent appointments of Dr. Ranjit Bindra, Scientific Director of the Yale Brain Tumor Center, to our Scientific Advisory Board and Professor Petra Hamerlik, Chair of Translational Neuro-Oncology at the University of Manchester and former CNS Cancer Bioscience Lead at AstraZeneca, to our Board of Directors. Combining world-class AI with deep DDR biology and rigorous experimental validation is how we intend to turn computational designs into drug candidates ready for pharmaceutical partnership."
"The technology behind Artemis.AI has a proven record. Drug candidates identified with it have been licensed to pharmaceutical companies and advanced into clinical trials, and Dr. Cherkasov’s team has won two international CACHE drug-discovery challenges and this year completed what we believe is the first trillion-molecule virtual screen," said Frank Holler, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Artemis. "Our goal in every collaboration is to pair the platform with partners who bring deep knowledge of their targets and the laboratory capability to validate what the AI designs, and to share in the success of the candidates that emerge. Rakovina brings exactly that to DNA-damage response, and our option to co-develop selected candidates gives both companies a path to build value together."
Key Terms of the Licence
Scope. Exclusive, worldwide and perpetual use of the Artemis.AI platform within DDR oncology drug discovery and development, including all updates and platform improvements and any platforms Artemis later licenses or acquires. The platform is hosted on Artemis’s servers, and up to ten hours of expert support per month are included.
Ownership and economics. Rakovina retains its existing compounds and programs, owns the compounds and data it generates with the platform, and may seek patent protection for them. No royalties or milestone payments are payable on drugs Rakovina discovers unless they are subject to a separate co-development agreement. Artemis retains ownership of the platform.
Co-development option. Artemis has a 60-day option to co-develop any platform-derived compound that Rakovina designates for development, on terms that share costs, risks and upside in proportion to each party’s contributions. Compounds Artemis declines, and programs developed without the platform, remain entirely Rakovina’s.
Exclusivity. The Licence may convert to non-exclusive if Rakovina has no active program in the field using the platform for 18 consecutive months and does not start one within 90 days after notice from Artemis.
Consideration. Rakovina will issue to Artemis common shares ("Shares") with an aggregate deemed value of C$1,000,000 in two tranches: (i) 2,500,000 Shares at a deemed price of C$0.20 per Share, within 10 days after TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") acceptance; and (ii) C$500,000 of Shares at a deemed price equal to the greater of C$0.265 and the Market Price at issuance (a maximum of 1,886,792 Shares), on the later of the first anniversary of the effective date and TSXV acceptance. The maximum of 4,386,792 Shares represents approximately 9.9% of Rakovina’s currently issued and outstanding shares. No Shares will be issued that would make Artemis a Control Person (as defined in TSXV policies) without prior shareholder approval. The Shares will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from issuance. No finder’s fees are payable.
The Licence Agreement is effective November 9, 2026. The issuance of Shares is subject to TSXV acceptance; if acceptance is refused and cannot be obtained within 90 days, either party may terminate the Licence Agreement. The Licence does not by itself establish a co-development arrangement for any compound or ensure that drug candidates will be identified, validated or approved.
Related-Party Disclosure
The Licence is a Non-Arm’s Length Party transaction under TSXV policies because Rakovina insiders have interests in Artemis. Frank Holler, a director of Rakovina, is Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Artemis. Dr. Mads Daugaard, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Rakovina, is a co-founder, director and Chief Scientific Officer of Artemis. Kim Oishi, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Rakovina, is a director of Artemis. In addition, Dr. Artem Cherkasov, co-founder, director and Chief Technology Officer of Artemis, is a member of Rakovina’s Scientific Advisory Board. Yevgeniy Meshcherekov, a director of Rakovina, is a director of Downstream Holdings Ltd., a shareholder of Artemis. Each of Mr. Holler, Dr. Daugaard, Mr. Oishi and Dr. Cherkasov is, directly or indirectly, a significant shareholder of Artemis.
Mr. Holler, Mr. Meshcherekov and Mr. Oishi declared their interests and abstained from voting on the Licence. The Licence was reviewed and approved by the Rakovina directors who are not related parties. In its review, the non-related party directors considered, among other things, a management analysis of the fair value of the Licence prepared using cost, income and market approaches, the terms of the Share consideration, the scope of the field, the co-development option and the exclusivity provisions, and concluded that the terms of the Licence are reasonable and in the best interests of Rakovina. The analysis is a management estimate and not an independent valuation or fairness opinion.
The Licence may constitute a "related party transaction" under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Rakovina is relying on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the transaction, exceeds 25% of Rakovina’s market capitalization. Rakovina did not file a material change report more than 21 days before entering into the Licence Agreement because the terms were not finalized until shortly before signing. The Licence remains subject to TSXV acceptance.
(Press release, Rakovina Therapeutics, NOV 10, 2026, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rakovina-therapeutics-secures-exclusive-worldwide-licence-to-artemis-ai-platform [SID1234674569])