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On Fri, 6 Sept, 12:07 AM UTC
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Eli Lilly bets $409M for AI-focused drug discovery (NYSE:LLY)
Genetic Leap, a company focused on AI-driven drug discovery, announced Thursday a research collaboration worth up to $409M with Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) to develop gene-based therapeutics. As part of the deal, the duo will leverage Genetic Leap's RNA-targeted AI platform to develop oligonucleotide drugs for targets selected by Lilly (LLY). The New York-based biotech said the partnership follows a successful pilot program with LLY. According to the deal's structure, Genetic Leap is set to receive up to $409M in upfront and milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Lilly and deeply share their strong commitment to developing RNA medicines," said Genetic Leap's CEO and founder, Bertrand Adanve. "Our primary goal in building the Genetic Leap AI platform is to accelerate the development of life-saving medicines for patients, and this collaboration with Lilly's talented and savvy R&D team takes us significantly closer to that goal."
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Eli Lilly partners with AI-focused Genetic Leap to develop RNA-based drugs
Major drugmakers have been experimenting with artificial intelligence to discover new drugs, find patients for clinical trials and reduce the number of people needed to test medicines. Lilly signed a partnership with AI startup OpenAI in Juneto develop antimicrobials that can be used to treat drug-resistant bacteria. French drugmaker Sanofi also said in May it would collaborate with OpenAI to develop AI models for its drug development projects. The deal would give Lilly access to Genetic Leap's proprietary AI platform to develop RNA-based medicines. Genetic medicines, which target the genetic cause of a disease, make up more than 25% of drug candidates being developed at Lilly, the drugmaker's website showed. Dozens of biotechnology companies are looking for ways to manipulate RNA, a genetic messenger, to block genes that produce disease-causing proteins. As part of the deal, Genetic Leap would receive upfront and milestone payments of up to $409 million, as well as tiered royalties. (Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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Eli Lilly has announced a significant $409 million investment in a partnership with AI-focused Genetic Leap to develop RNA-based drugs. This collaboration aims to leverage artificial intelligence in drug discovery and development processes.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has made a bold move in the realm of drug discovery by announcing a substantial $409 million investment in a partnership with Genetic Leap, an artificial intelligence-focused company 1. This collaboration marks a significant step towards integrating cutting-edge AI technology into the pharmaceutical industry's research and development processes.
The partnership between Eli Lilly and Genetic Leap is centered on the development of RNA-based drugs 2. RNA-based therapeutics have gained considerable attention in recent years, particularly following the success of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This focus on RNA drugs suggests that Eli Lilly is keen on exploring and expanding its portfolio in this promising area of medicine.
Artificial intelligence is set to play a crucial role in this collaboration. The integration of AI technologies in drug discovery processes has the potential to significantly accelerate research timelines, reduce costs, and improve the overall efficiency of developing new therapeutics. By leveraging AI algorithms, researchers can analyze vast amounts of biological data, predict potential drug candidates, and optimize molecular structures more rapidly than traditional methods allow.
The $409 million investment by Eli Lilly underscores the company's commitment to innovation and its belief in the potential of AI-driven drug discovery 1. This substantial financial commitment is likely to be structured as a combination of upfront payments, research funding, and potential milestone payments as the collaboration progresses.
This partnership between Eli Lilly and Genetic Leap is indicative of a broader trend in the pharmaceutical industry, where major players are increasingly turning to AI and machine learning to enhance their drug discovery capabilities. The success of this collaboration could potentially set a new standard for how pharmaceutical companies approach research and development in the future.
While the partnership presents exciting opportunities, it also comes with challenges. Integrating AI into the complex process of drug discovery and development requires overcoming technical hurdles and regulatory considerations. However, if successful, this approach could lead to the discovery of novel therapeutic candidates that might have been overlooked by traditional methods.
The collaboration between Eli Lilly and Genetic Leap has the potential to yield significant advancements in the field of RNA-based therapeutics. As the partnership progresses, the pharmaceutical industry will be watching closely to see how this AI-driven approach translates into tangible results in terms of new drug candidates and potentially shortened development timelines.
Reference
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