Artificial intelligence healthcare startup Owkin has received an $80 million investment to collaborate with Bristol Myers Squibb on designing clinical trials, starting with cardiovascular disease.
Under the agreement, Owkin will receive an $80 million series B-1 equity investment led by the pharmaceutical giant and possibly upward of $100 million more if the collaboration achieves certain regulatory milestones. Owkin uses AI and machine learning to discover and develop medical treatments.
"We look forward to collaborating with Owkin to extend our applications of AI and machine learning to enhance our discovery and development programs with high-quality, diverse data from clinical and real world sources," Venkat Sethuraman, senior vice president of global biometrics and data sciences at Bristol Myers Squibb, said in the June 8 Owkin news release.
"In particular, cardiovascular disease is an area of significant unmet need, and where we have the opportunity to use technology in new ways to further accelerate potential breakthroughs for patients who are waiting," Mr. Sethuraman said.
Owkin, a French-American startup, has received more than $300 million in funding to date, including from Alphabet's venture capital arm, GV. The company reached "unicorn" status — meaning its value exceeded $1 billion — in November after a $180 million investment from pharma firm Sanofi.