Cellular Intelligence acquires global rights to Novo Nordisk Parkinson’s cell therapy program

Cellular Intelligence acquired global rights to Novo Nordisk’s clinical-stage cell therapy program for Parkinson’s disease one day before holding an expert symposium on the convergence of artificial intelligence and biology. The day-long event, titled “Engineering Cell Fate,” took place in mid-May 2026 at the Novo Nordisk Foundation headquarters in Copenhagen.

Twenty-eight experts in AI, biology, regenerative medicine, venture, and company building attended.

Cellular Intelligence, previously known as Somite AI, is a Boston-based TechBio company co-founded and led by Israeli entrepreneur Dr. Micha Breakstone. ai.

The company’s scientific base was built in collaboration with Prof. Allon Klein of Harvard Medical School, developmental biologist Prof. Olivier Pourquie, and Dr. Nuno Mendonca, who heads the clinical advancement of the Parkinson’s program.

The company’s platform integrates high-throughput multiplexing methods with a foundation model trained on large numbers of cellular perturbation conditions. Cellular Intelligence plans to apply its AI foundation model, trained on millions of cellular perturbation conditions, to accelerate development and manufacturing of the STEM-PD therapy.

“We are using AI to understand how cells communicate and to make new tissue,” Dr.

Micha Breakstone said during the symposium. He added that Parkinson’s, Type 1 diabetes, epilepsy, and macular degeneration could be helped by the technology. “Bringing AI into this world has been challenging; we are trying to create noise in the room, to create a notion of urgency in this ecosystem,” Breakstone stated.