UPDATE 1 — Zealand Pharma, Generate strike AI obesity drug deal worth up to $1.2 billion

(Updates sourcing, adds details throughout) Oct 13 (Reuters) — Zealand Pharma and Generate Biomedicines said on Tuesday they have partnered to develop protein-based treatments for obesity and other metabolic diseases using AI, in a deal worth up to nearly $1.2 billion. Shares of Somerville, Massachusetts-based Generate Biomedicines were up about 5% in extended trading. Generate will receive $30 million upfront and up to $35 million in early preclinical milestones and could earn nearly $1.2 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, the companies said. Generate will lead research through lead-candidate selection, while Zealand will oversee clinical development, regulatory submissions and commercialization. (Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara) ((Sahil.Pandey@thomsonreuters.com;)