Eli Lilly and Purdue University Forge $250 Million AI-Driven Research Partnership

Eli Lilly investing $250 million in research at Purdue University

Why it matters: There's a lot of uncertainty around federal research funding at the moment, so landing what could be the largest-ever agreement of its kind between private industry and a university is a big deal. The big picture: The initiative will bring Lilly researchers to Purdue's West Lafayette campus and Purdue researchers to Lilly facilities and will focus on accelerating drug discovery, development, and manufacturing using AI and other technology-driven approaches. What they're saying: "This may not be the only part of the future of research, but it certainly is an increasingly important part," said Purdue president Mung Chiang during the Friday announcement. Context: The Trump administration has instituted spending cuts and freezes to federal grants that have roiled major academic research programs. State of play: The collaboration between Lilly and Purdue will allow the pharmaceutical company to strengthen its own talent pipeline by training its next generation of workers. Kurt Ristroph, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue, has already worked with the existing Lilly and Purdue Research Alliance Center.

Lilly plans to expand Purdue University collaboration with up to a $250 million investment to accelerate pharmaceutical innovation - Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY)

INDIANAPOLIS and WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company LLY and Purdue University announced today a significant expansion of their long-standing alliance, with Lilly's planned investment of up to $250 million in the collaboration over the next eight years. This partnership, which has the potential to be the largest ever industry-academic agreement of its kind in the United States, will seek to accelerate innovation at every stage of the pharmaceutical pipeline. The Lilly-Purdue 360 Initiative aims to achieve several key goals, including discovering and accelerating the delivery of medicines to patients; bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and clinical applications; creating more resilient, efficient and sustainable supply chains; and deploying innovative, scalable approaches to workforce development. The expanded collaboration is also expected to generate significant economic benefits for Indiana by creating a highly skilled workforce and fostering local innovation. The earlier agreement, which had been set to expire in 2027, will now extend with four new projects added through 2032. Additionally, it will engage existing joint programs, such as Lilly Scholars at Purdue and the Lilly and Purdue Research Alliance Center (LPRC). Purdue will make space available for Lilly researchers on-site in West Lafayette. Purdue researchers will collaborate in Lilly facilities in Indianapolis and in Indiana's LEAP Research and Innovation District. "As potentially the largest single university-industry research agreement in American history, Lilly and Purdue are blazing a new trail to the endless frontier," said Purdue University President Mung Chiang. "As for our state, when its largest company and the largest university expand collaboration at a scale never seen before, especially in the backdrop of Lilly's manufacturing facility in LEAP, today marks a monumental watershed in the generation of jobs, workforce, and innovation along America's Hard-Tech Corridor. We thank Lilly for its pioneering impact on health and medicine in our society and for what is now the largest single research funding, from public or private capital, in Purdue's history." To achieve the initiative's ambitious goals, Lilly and Purdue will concentrate on several key areas: Applying AI-powered tools to augment traditional drug discovery methods while leveraging advancements in machine learning and big data analytics to explore disease mechanisms and personalized treatmentsFacilitating technology-enabled approaches to accelerate potential treatments from Phase I clinical studies to regulatory approval and technology transfer into manufacturing -- critical focus areas of the Lilly Medicine FoundryIncorporating robotics, AI, and data sciences to quickly scale manufacturing capacity more effectively, with improved compliance and greater sustainabilityEnhancing workforce development to ensure a strong talent pipeline to meet the demands of Lilly and other Indiana employers "Accelerating the delivery of life-changing medicines demands a highly skilled workforce and continuous innovation across discovery, process development and manufacturing," said David A. Ricks, Lilly's chair and CEO. "Through this expanded collaboration with Purdue, we look forward to combining our strengths in advanced technologies and cutting-edge science to pioneer new methods of delivering next-generation medicines to advance human health." The Lilly-Purdue 360 Initiative supports Purdue's One Health initiative, which advances knowledge and innovation related to animal, human, and plant well-being through novel interdisciplinary initiatives and partnerships with industry. About Purdue University Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue's main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap -- including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative -- at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives. About Lilly Lilly is a medicine company turning science into healing to make life better for people around the world. We've been pioneering life-changing discoveries for nearly 150 years, and today our medicines help tens of millions of people across the globe. Harnessing the power of biotechnology, chemistry and genetic medicine, our scientists are urgently advancing new discoveries to solve some of the world's most significant health challenges: redefining diabetes care; treating obesity and curtailing its most devastating long-term effects; advancing the fight against Alzheimer's disease; providing solutions to some of the most debilitating immune system disorders; and transforming the most difficult-to-treat cancers into manageable diseases. With each step toward a healthier world, we're motivated by one thing: making life better for millions more people. That includes delivering innovative clinical trials that reflect the diversity of our world and working to ensure our medicines are accessible and affordable. To learn more, visit Lilly.com and Lilly.com/news, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. C-LLY SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company LLYEli Lilly and Co$760.001.14%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? 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