Generate will lead each program through lead-candidate selection. Zealand Pharma takes over for clinical development and will handle regulatory submissions. It will also commercialize any resulting products worldwide.
On October 13, 2026, the companies announced a partnership to develop AI-designed multispecific protein therapeutics for obesity and other metabolic diseases. The agreement covers two initial programs, with an option for Zealand to add a third. Generate will receive $30 million upfront and may earn up to $35 million in early preclinical milestones. Nearly $1.2 billion in potential payments is tied to milestones across research and development, as well as regulatory and commercial milestones. Generate could also receive tiered royalties on worldwide net sales if a product reaches the market. The payments depend on future milestones and are not guaranteed revenue.
No clinical results or candidate names were disclosed. Multispecific medicines are designed to act on more than one biological target at a time.
Generate’s generative AI platform combines computational design with high-throughput experimental validation. The company will lead research until it selects lead candidates. Zealand will then move the programs into clinical development. The Zealand Pharma announcement describes the collaboration as focused on protein therapeutics for metabolic diseases.
The deal sits earlier in development than Fate Therapeutics’ trial clearance, which concerned FDA permission for an autoimmune cell therapy to enter clinical trials. Under the Generate agreement, research continues through lead-candidate selection before Zealand assumes responsibility for the next phase.
Zealand Pharma Chief Scientific Officer Utpal Singh said the partnership would add proteins to the company’s capabilities in small molecules and peptides. Generate CEO Mike Nally said the teams would define the desired profile for medicines in each initial program, then design multispecific candidates to meet or exceed those profiles. Generate’s agreement announcement outlines the division of work.
The collaboration extends Zealand Pharma’s work beyond peptides by applying Generate’s protein-design platform to obesity and other metabolic diseases. Generate will test its computational designs experimentally during the research process. Ropes & Gray LLP advised Generate, and Cooley LLP advised Zealand Pharma.
