AstraZeneca announced on January 13 2026 that it will acquire Modella AI, a Boston‑based artificial‑intelligence company that builds multimodal foundation models for life sciences. The deal will embed Modella’s generative and agentic AI platform into AstraZeneca’s global oncology research and development organization, with the goal of accelerating clinical development, enhancing biomarker discovery, and improving data‑driven decision making across the company’s oncology pipeline.
The transaction’s financial terms have not been disclosed, and the expected closing date has not yet been announced. The acquisition follows a multi‑year collaboration that began in July 2025, during which the two companies tested Modella’s AI tools on early‑stage oncology projects.
Modella AI specializes in multimodal AI foundation models that combine pathology images, clinical data, and other biomedical signals to generate insights that are difficult to obtain with traditional analytics. Its generative AI copilots can draft research hypotheses, design experiments, and simulate clinical trial scenarios, while its agentic AI agents can autonomously navigate large datasets to identify novel therapeutic targets.
By integrating Modella’s technology, AstraZeneca aims to shorten the time from target discovery to clinical trial initiation, reduce the risk of late‑stage failures, and increase the precision of patient stratification. The move is part of a broader strategy to embed AI across all stages of drug development, positioning the company to compete more effectively in a market where AI‑driven insights are becoming essential for identifying new targets and optimizing therapeutic candidates.
The acquisition fits into a wider trend of pharmaceutical companies investing heavily in AI. AstraZeneca has already partnered with or acquired several AI firms—including Tempus AI, Pathos AI, Absci, BenevolentAI, and Immunai—to strengthen its analytics and precision‑medicine capabilities. Modella’s focus on multimodal foundation models adds a new layer of depth to the company’s AI portfolio, particularly in the high‑impact oncology space.
"By joining AstraZeneca, we can apply our multimodal foundation models and agentic AI platform across a world‑class oncology pipeline to accelerate development and help improve outcomes for patients with cancer," said Jill Stefanelli, PhD, co‑founder and CEO of Modella AI. Jorge Reis‑Filho, MD, PhD, Chief of AI for Science Innovation at AstraZeneca, added, "The acquisition of Modella AI provides state‑of‑the‑art frontier pathology foundation models and AI agents that will continue to enable the development of targeted therapeutics along with diagnostics in our oncology portfolio."
The deal is expected to accelerate the discovery of new cancer treatments and improve the speed and accuracy of clinical trial design and execution. With Modella’s AI platform integrated into its research ecosystem, AstraZeneca will be better positioned to translate methodological advances into real‑world impact, potentially shortening development timelines and enhancing the precision of its oncology pipeline.
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