Licensing AI-Driven Drug Discovery Platforms: An Analytical Framework | Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/licensing-ai-driven-drug-discovery-8794564/
Publish Date: 2026-01-22 10:05:00
Source Domain: www.jdsupra.com
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Impact on Drug Discovery: AI is transforming the life sciences industry by accelerating drug discovery processes such as target identification, lead optimization, and the prediction of compounds’ safety and efficacy.
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AI Models and Innovations: AI models utilizing multiomics, literature, and data can identify new disease biology hypotheses, new protein and pathway targets, and infer receptor-ligand interactions.
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Generative AI and Patents: Generative AI technologies like graph neural networks propose novel chemical entities which can offer valuable composition-of-matter patents, representing significant commercial potential.
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Deal Dynamics and Challenges: Partnerships involving AI platforms involve challenges such as patentability, data management, inventorship, and complex negotiations regarding the ownership and licensing of both AI-generated compounds and data.
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IP Inventorship Issues: The U.S. patent system restricts inventorship to natural persons, necessitating human contributions to patent claims, introducing risks for AI-related patents if inventorship rules are bypassed.
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Data Ownership and Confidentiality: Clear agreements must delineate the ownership and use of data, including the confidentiality of training data used by the AI platforms, which could involve stringent requirements to prevent unauthorized access and reuse.
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Risk Allocation and Indemnification: New risk vectors from AI collaboration lead to provisions requiring indemnification against unauthorized data use, cybersecurity breaches, and ensuring data protection compliance.
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Post-Termination and Continuity: Agreements must address continuity of access to AI platforms and trained models in case of termination or the bankruptcy of the AI platform company, potentially including escrow arrangements for platform data.
