The pharmaceutical and technology group Merck wants to use artificial intelligence to drive forward its drug research.

Merck has agreed partnerships with the pharmaceutical AI experts BenevolentAI and Exscientia to increase the speed and probability of success of its drug discovery, as the company announced on Wednesday. The collaboration focuses on the development of small molecule drug candidates, which Merck will then further investigate in preclinical and clinical studies. Both partners will receive upfront payments in the low double-digit million dollar range. They are also entitled to further success-based milestone payments as well as royalties on potential future sales of products from the collaboration.

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