Mergermarket interviews Nelson Advisors: Big Pharma, Big Tech target genomics players to feed AI models with healthcare data

Nelson Advisors partners Lloyd Price and Paul Hemings were interviewed by Mergermarket for their 'Big Pharma, Big Tech target genomics players to feed AI models with healthcare data' story.
  
Source: https://mergermarket.ionanalytics.com/content/1004461385?source=news

Interest in genetics datasets is growing as Big Pharma and Big Tech alike construct data-hungry AI models to power drug development.

"Pharma’s key challenge of finding the next blockbuster drug hasn’t changed," Stephen Reese, partner and co‑chair of Clifford Chance's Healthcare and Life Sciences sector group, told Mergermarket.
 
"The field of genomics is hugely valuable to tackling some of those really big killers, including cancer," hesaid.
 
Big Pharma companies are turning to AI models to drive drug discovery technology that speeds up thepathway of a molecule to clinical trials, Reese said. At the same time, drug developers hope to use other AI models such as digital twins to make clinical development faster and cheaper, he said.
  
For example, GSK sealed a 5‑year USD 50m deal with US player Noetik for access to both data and its training models earlier this year focused on oncology R&D and colorectal cancer, noted Lloyd Price, partner at Nelson Advisors.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca paid USD 12m for the assets of UK-based Achilles Therapeutics in 2024, and theUS company Recursion Pharmaceuticals merged with UK-based Exscientia in a USD 790m deal in 2024.
  
According to Mergermarket data, other major global deals in this space include the USD 1Bn launch of US-based AI player Xaira Therapeutics in 2024 and the pending USD 1.5Bn listing of Singapore‑based NanyangBiologics via the Nasdaq‑listed SPAC RF Acquisition Corp II, announced in October 2025.

Source: https://mergermarket.ionanalytics.com/content/1004461385?source=news