GSK and Relation expand collaboration, offering up to $110 million for experiments on human cells to train AI

GSK and Relation expand collaboration, offering up to $110 million for experiments on human cells to train AI

On July 30, GSK and Relation announced an expansion of their research collaboration. Relation may receive up to $110 million in upfront and success-based payments for a series of experiments using human cell models.

A cell can be described in detail at a specific moment by measuring which genes are active and which proteins and other molecules it contains. However, this snapshot does not show what will happen if a specific gene is altered or a compound is added. To answer that question, a researcher intervenes in the cell and observes the resulting changes.

GSK will fund a series of such experiments. In its announcement of the agreement, Relation says automation will allow researchers to measure cellular responses at several timepoints. Multiomic measurements collect several types of molecular data in a single experiment. The resulting record shows the sequence of events: researchers first alter a gene or add a substance, then measure the resulting changes at several timepoints.

These records identify both the intervention and the cell's response. Relation calls its cellular biology models MORGAN and plans to train them on these data for specific tissues and diseases. According to the company, MORGAN is intended to predict how human cells respond to genetic and drug interventions, allowing researchers to select hypotheses about therapeutic targets for the next experiment.

GSK had already worked with Relation. In December 2024, the companies agreed to search for therapeutic targets in fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis. Relation was to collect data from human tissues and conduct functional tests. The description of those programs focused on identifying and validating targets. The new agreement funds the systematic creation of time-resolved records showing the effects of interventions.

For MORGAN, the sequence of events matters: a researcher alters a gene or exposes a cell to a substance, and subsequent measurements capture the cell's response. Relation expects these data to help the model narrow the list of hypotheses for the next laboratory test. GSK is not funding a map of cellular states. It is funding a series of experiments that connect specific interventions to their consequences.