Eli Lilly and Insilico Medicine reach a $2.75 billion partnership, aiming to bring AI-driven drug development to the global market.

Eli Lilly, a U.S. pharmaceutical company, has reached a cooperation agreement worth $2.75 billion with Hong Kong-listed company Insilico Medicine. Under the deal, the latter will use AI-developed drugs to expand into global markets.

According to a joint announcement released by both sides on Monday, Insilico Medicine will receive an upfront payment of $115 million first, with the remaining amount paid based on regulatory approvals and commercial milestones. At the same time, Insilico Medicine will also be eligible to receive royalty payments based on future drug sales.

Alex Zajwronkow, founder and chief executive officer of Insilico Medicine, said the company has used generative AI tools to develop at least 28 drugs, with nearly half already entering clinical trial stages. The company listed in Hong Kong in December last year, and since the beginning of this year, its share price has risen by more than 50%.

Zajwronkow said: “In many areas of artificial intelligence, Eli Lilly’s capabilities are better than ours.” He noted that this U.S. pharmaceutical giant has core talent that integrates biology, chemistry, and automation technologies. He also said that under the agreement, Insilico Medicine will join Eli Lilly’s “Gateway Labs” biotechnology R&D platform.

The two companies have been collaborating since signing an AI software licensing agreement in 2023.

Andrew Adams, vice president of molecular discovery at Eli Lilly, said in a statement: “This collaboration helps us explore entirely new mechanisms of action and accelerate the selection of promising candidate drugs across multiple disease areas.” He said Insilico Medicine’s AI-driven drug discovery and development technology is a “powerful supplement” to Eli Lilly’s clinical R&D.

Zajwronkow added that AI can not only shorten the R&D cycle, but also allows the synthesis of molecules at a much faster pace than traditional drug discovery methods.

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