AstraZeneca struck a multi‑year collaboration worth up to $555 million with Algen Biotechnologies to apply Algen’s CRISPR‑AI platform to identify therapeutic targets, validating functional genomics plus AI as a discovery model. The partnership gives AstraZeneca exclusive rights to develop therapies against targets identified through the collaboration. Meanwhile Shuttle Pharmaceuticals moved to acquire Molecule.ai for $10 million in cash and stock to internalize AI drug‑design capabilities, signaling smaller biotech players also want in on agentic AI and molecular LLM tools. These deals show both big and small companies are accelerating investments in AI‑driven target discovery and early‑stage hit generation.