PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Autobahn Labs (“Autobahn”), a venture studio focused on transforming high-potential academic science into investable drug discovery and development programs, announced today a strategic partnership with global life sciences company Astellas Pharma Inc. (“Astellas”). The collaboration seeks to advance academic research and discoveries into novel therapeutics, providing Astellas’ Innovation Lab and Oncology Research units with integrated visibility into promising platforms, technologies and modalities from early discovery through development.
Through this collaboration, Astellas will receive an exclusive opportunity to invest in selected drug discovery programs emerging from Autobahn’s translational research pipeline, which includes promising, early-stage discoveries from leading academic institutions. Autobahn will receive an annual access fee and co-investment from Astellas in startups created under the partnership.
Selected, early-stage research and discovery programs will be advanced within newly formed Program Companies, with equity interests shared among Autobahn, Astellas, the originating academic institution, and the founding academic investigators. Astellas will receive a right of first negotiation for an exclusive license to further develop and commercialize intellectual property arising from jointly funded programs.
“This exciting partnership combines the strengths of academic innovation with world-class drug development expertise,” said Dushyant Pathak, CEO of Autobahn. “By combining Autobahn’s deep academic relationships and search and evaluation capabilities with Astellas’ drug development expertise, our goal is to accelerate the translation of breakthrough discoveries into meaningful therapies for patients.”
“Astellas’ external innovation strategy is anchored in building strong partnerships with innovative academic leaders and ambitious start-ups to advance promising science with the potential to address high unmet patient needs,” said Morten Sogaard, PhD, Head of Astellas Innovation Lab. “Partnering with Autobahn Labs gives us a unique window into early-stage, high potential programs grounded in strong science, and an opportunity to access cutting-edge research programs from top-tier academic research centers.”
About Autobahn Labs
Autobahn Labs is a venture studio that partners with leading academic institutions to translate cutting-edge science into de-risked drug discovery programs. Backed by Samsara BioCapital and Charles River Labs, Autobahn identifies high-impact opportunities, designs capital-efficient plans to generate decisive data, and collaborates with industry-leading R&D partners to advance programs toward development candidates and value-creating partnerships. Autobahn Labs has institutional collaborations with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), University of California San Diego (UCSD), the University of Southern California (USC), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the University of Pennsylvania, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the University of Michigan. For more information, visit www.autobahn-labs.com.
Autobahn Labs Contact:
Dushyant Pathak
Chief Executive Officer
info@autobahn-labs.com
