Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Partners with Variational AI to leverage AI in Enhancing Drug Development

Merck & Co. Inc., (NYSE:MRK) is one of the best conservative stocks to buy now. On September 23, the company confirmed a strategic collaboration with Variational AI to leverage its Enki Platform in designing small-molecule drug candidates.

Variational AI is to use a customized version of the Enki Platform, trained on Merck’s proprietary data, to come up with optimized small molecule candidates. The collaboration aligns with Merck’s ongoing investment in and utilization of artificial intelligence solutions to enhance drug discovery and development.

Merck is to retain rights to develop and commercialize compounds resulting from the partnership. Similarly, Variational AI is eligible to receive an upfront payment and is entitled to up to $349 million in milestone payments.

“We look forward to working with Variational AI to apply their Enki platform to challenging therapeutic targets,” said Robert M. Garbaccio, Vice President and Head of Discovery Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a science and technology company with three main businesses: Healthcare, providing innovative therapies for challenging diseases; Life Science, supplying tools and services for research and biomanufacturing; and Electronics, offering high-tech materials for displays and electronics.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.