On August 19, 2025 VantAI, the leader in generative AI for proximity drug discovery, and Halda Therapeutics, the pioneer of RIPTAC (Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimeras) therapeutics, reported a strategic research collaboration worth over $1 billion in total potential value, inclusive of upfront and milestone payments across multiple targets (Press release, Halda Therapeutics, AUG 19, 2025, View Source [SID1234655387]). This landmark alliance combines two category-defining platforms to accelerate the discovery and development of selective proximity-based therapies across cancer and immunology indications. The agreement includes upfront payments, research support, success-based development and commercial milestones, and tiered royalties on net sales, with a path to expand the collaboration over time.
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Under the partnership, VantAI will leverage its Neo-1 foundation model and NeoLink high-throughput structural proteomics platform to rapidly identify and validate novel, context-specific target–effector pairs. These pairs—across both oncology and immunology—will feed directly into Halda’s proprietary RIPTAC development pipeline, which harnesses a distinctive "hold-and-kill" mechanism to achieve potent, cell-selective effects in disease-relevant tissues. By pairing Halda’s validated modality with VantAI’s AI-driven rational drug design engine, the partnership is poised to deliver the next generation of selective, proximity-based therapeutics tailored to disease-specific signatures.
"Induced proximity is poised to unlock a new and exciting chapter of medicine, including but also beyond protein degradation," said Zachary Carpenter, Co-Founder and CEO of VantAI. "Halda is leading this next wave, already demonstrating its potential in the clinic. Together, we’re advancing a new generation of RIPTACs—leveraging the unique properties of this modality to address previously inaccessible targets, with the potential to meaningfully impact patients underserved by current treatment options."
"VantAI’s proprietary platform enables the systematic rewiring of protein interactions with precision," said Christian Schade, President and CEO of Halda Therapeutics. "By pairing Halda’s novel RIPTAC modality with VantAI’s AI-driven rational drug design engine, the partnership will complement platform discovery efforts and will help deliver the next generation of selective, proximity-based therapeutics tailored to disease-specific signatures." Halda’s lead candidate, HLD-0915, is currently advancing through Phase 1/2 clinical trials in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).