Adaptive Biotechnologies announced two non‑exclusive agreements with Pfizer that could generate up to $890 million in upfront and milestone payments. The first deal is a target‑discovery collaboration focused on identifying disease‑specific T‑cell receptors (TCRs) in rheumatoid arthritis, while the second is a data‑licensing agreement that gives Pfizer access to Adaptive’s proprietary TCR‑antigen binding dataset for use in its AI and machine‑learning models across multiple immunology programs.
Under the rheumatoid‑arthritis partnership, Adaptive will apply its Immune Medicine Platform to Pfizer’s clinical samples to pinpoint TCRs that are significantly enriched in patients. Pfizer will own the development and commercialization of any therapies that arise from this work. The data‑licensing agreement allows Pfizer to train its own models on Adaptive’s dataset, which the company claims is the largest and highest‑quality TCR‑antigen binding collection in the industry. The combination of discovery and data access positions Pfizer to accelerate its own drug‑discovery pipeline while giving Adaptive a substantial cash infusion and a broader, non‑exclusive collaboration model.
Strategically, the deals signal a shift for Adaptive away from highly exclusive agreements toward a portfolio of non‑exclusive partnerships that can be leveraged across multiple therapeutic areas. The agreements come as Adaptive’s long‑term collaboration with Genentech is set to terminate in February 2026, and the company’s Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) testing business has recently achieved profitability. The new Pfizer deals provide a diversified revenue stream that complements the MRD business and mitigates the impact of the Genentech exit.
Chad Robins, CEO and co‑founder of Adaptive, said the partnership “demonstrates the value of our AI‑enabled immune medicine platform and the depth of our immune‑system data, which can inform discoveries across immunology programs and potentially lead to next‑generation therapeutics in rheumatoid arthritis.” The quote underscores the company’s confidence in its platform and its ability to generate high‑value data for large pharma partners.
Investors welcomed the announcement, citing the significant potential upside and the strategic validation of Adaptive’s platform by a major pharmaceutical company. The partnership also highlights the growing importance of AI and machine learning in drug discovery and positions Adaptive as a key data partner for Pfizer’s immunology programs.
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