Novartis signed a multi-program discovery and development collaboration with UK AI-driven biotech Relation to target atopic diseases, committing up to $1.7 billion in milestones and tiered royalties. Relation will receive $55 million up front including equity and R&D funding; Novartis gains worldwide development and commercial rights while Relation supplies AI-enabled functional genomics, patient-derived data and experimental systems. The deal pairs Relation’s Lab‑in‑the‑Loop platform—integrating AI with patient multiomics and functional screens—with Novartis’s immuno-dermatology development capabilities. Relation will lead observational studies to generate functional cell atlases from patient tissue that will feed target selection and validation efforts. David Roblin, Relation’s CEO, framed the pact as a strategic fit that accelerates target discovery by combining computational prediction with human data. For drug developers, the collaboration signals continuing big‑pharma appetite for AI-enabled target discovery and human-data first approaches. The structure—upfront funding, equity and large milestone upside—mirrors recent industry playbooks for derisking discovery while preserving downstream commercialization scale.