Caris Life Sciences, a molecular profiling company, and precision medicine startup HotSpot Therapeutics have entered into a strategic partnership to develop the latter’s pipeline of precision medicine drugs and companion diagnostic tests (CDx). The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the partnership but stated that the potential could cross over USD 40 million. 

Under the terms of the collaboration, the companies will initially focus on two therapeutic programs including the development of HotSpot's novel allosteric inhibitor of the E3 ubiquitin ligase CBL-B, which is a cancer immunotherapy target. Caris was also granted negotiation rights for CDx tests from partnership therapeutic programs. 

HotSpot Therapeutics Inc. is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops allosteric therapies targeting regulatory sites on proteins referred to as natural hotspots. These are naturally occurring pockets on proteins that affect cellular protein function. Its AI-powered drug discovery platform is focused on identifying targets in cancer and autoimmune diseases. 

Texas-based Caris Life Sciences is a liquid and tissue profiling company with a molecular database on more than 356,000 patients and clinical outcomes on more than 275,000 patients. The company uses whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing together with AI and machine learning algorithms. Its latest development includes a blood-based circulating nucleic acids sequencing assay.