Gilead Sciences and Terray Therapeutics Partner to Advance AI-Driven Small Molecule Drug Discovery

Just two months after raising $120 million to advance its AI-driven tNova platform and internal immunology programs, Terray Therapeutics has secured a new research partnership with Gilead Sciences. The collaboration focuses on discovering and developing novel small molecule therapies across multiple therapeutic targets identified by Gilead.

Terray Therapeutics integrates large-scale experimentation with generative AI, combining ultra-high throughput experimentation, biology, medicinal chemistry, automation, and nanotechnology to accelerate small molecule drug discovery. Their tNova platform has measured over 5 billion target-ligand interactions in recent years—50 times larger than all publicly available chemistry data. In addition, Terray’s collaboration with NVIDIA, announced in November 2023, leverages NVIDIA DGX Cloud to train foundation models for chemistry, enhancing the exploration of vast molecular spaces and advancing their preclinical pipeline.

Flavius Martin, M.D., Executive Vice President of Research at Gilead:

“Next-generation, AI-driven platforms using custom-generated large, relevant data sets will serve as important tools in our efforts to shape the future of drug discovery in our ongoing pursuit of innovative treatments across our therapeutic areas of focus. We are excited to collaborate with Terray and explore how their integrated discovery platform will complement our own internal research capabilities and expertise.”

Under the agreement, Terray will leverage its tNova platform to identify small molecule compounds for Gilead. If Gilead exercises its option to license the resulting compounds, it will take responsibility for further development and commercialization. Financial terms include an upfront payment to Terray, along with eligibility for milestone payments and tiered royalties on eventual sales.

Jacob Berlin, Ph.D., CEO of Terray Therapeutics:

“We’re proud to strategically partner with Gilead. We’re very excited to put tNova’s unique blend of experimentation and computation to work alongside Gilead’s deep expertise to find transformational small molecule therapeutics that bring relief to patients in need.”

This collaboration follows a year marked by setbacks in Gilead's research programs. In 2024, the company halted development on its MASH partnership with Yuhan and abandoned magrolimab, an anti-CD47 antibody acquired for $4.9 billion in 2020, after disappointing clinical results and regulatory hurdles.

Cover image: Terray Therapeutics

Topics: Startups & Deals