Eli Lilly strikes up to $2.75bn deal with Insilico to accelerate push into AI-developed medicines

Eli Lilly has agreed a major partnership with Insilico Medicine that could reach $2.75bn, as the US drugmaker accelerates its push into AI-developed medicines.

The deal gives Lilly rights to develop and commercialise a pipeline of therapies generated using Insilico’s artificial intelligence platforms and includes an upfront payment of roughly $115m, with additional payouts tied to development, regulatory and sales milestones, plus royalties on any approved drugs, according to Bloomberg.

The compounds involved are still in early-stage development, but the partnership reflects growing confidence in AI’s ability to reshape how medicines are discovered and brought to market. By using machine learning to identify targets and design molecules, companies aim to cut both timelines and costs compared with traditional lab-based approaches.

The Financial Times reported the collaboration may also involve access to a GLP-1-related asset, a class of drugs that has become one of the most lucrative areas in pharma due to soaring demand for diabetes and weight-loss treatments.

For Lilly, the move deepens an ongoing strategy to embed AI across its research pipeline as competition intensifies in high-growth therapeutic areas. The company has been actively forming partnerships that combine its clinical expertise with advanced computational tools.

For Insilico, the deal marks a significant commercial milestone, reinforcing investor confidence in its AI-led drug discovery model.

The agreement underscores a broader industry shift, as major pharmaceutical groups increasingly turn to AI not just as an experimental tool, but as a core driver of future drug development.