Kronos Bio, Inc. announced that it has entered into a discovery collaboration in the field of oncology with Genentech. The partnership will allow Genentech to leverage Kronos Bio's expertise to identify protein-protein interactions, genetic dependencies and gene expression signatures to better understand and target the oncogenic activity of transcription factors in cancer types of interest. Under the collaboration, researchers at the two companies will collaborate using Kronos Bio's proprietary drug discovery platform, including the small molecule microarray (SMM) for hit finding, to build upon research conducted to date by Genentech.

Kronos Bio will lead discovery and research activities to a defined preclinical point when Genentech will have the exclusive right to pursue further preclinical and clinical development and commercialization. Under the terms of the agreement, Kronos Bio will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and be eligible for additional payments, which could total up to $554 million, based on reaching certain milestones, including discovery, preclinical, clinical and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on any potential products that are commercialized as a result of the collaboration.