Insilico Medicine and Lilly Announce Landmark AI-Powered Drug Discovery Collaboration

The $2.75 billion deal will leverage Insilico's generative AI to accelerate novel therapeutics across multiple disease areas.

Mar. 30, 2026 at 1:04am

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Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage biotech company powered by artificial intelligence, has announced a major global R&D collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company. The agreement grants Lilly an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a portfolio of Insilico's preclinical drug candidates, while the two companies will also work together on multiple AI-driven discovery programs targeting diseases with high unmet need.

Why it matters

This landmark deal underscores the growing role of AI and automation in drug discovery, as Insilico's frontier technologies complement Lilly's deep clinical expertise across diverse therapeutic areas. The collaboration aims to deliver transformative new therapies for diseases that currently lack effective treatments.

The details

Under the terms, Insilico will receive an upfront payment of $115 million, plus potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestones that could total $2.75 billion. The two companies will also share tiered royalties on future product sales. Insilico's AI-powered Pharma.AI platforms will be combined with Lilly's clinical development capabilities to accelerate the identification of promising drug candidates spanning areas like fibrosis, oncology, immunology, pain, and metabolic disorders.

  • The collaboration was announced on March 29, 2026.
  • Insilico was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 30, 2025.

The players

Insilico Medicine

A clinical-stage biotechnology company that integrates artificial intelligence and automation technologies to accelerate drug discovery and innovation in the life sciences.

Eli Lilly and Company

A global pharmaceutical company with deep expertise in clinical development and commercialization across multiple therapeutic areas.

Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD

The founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, who has been developing deep learning for end-to-end drug discovery.

Andrew Adams

The Group Vice President of Molecule Discovery at Lilly, who stated that Insilico's AI-enabled capabilities complement Lilly's expertise in clinical development.

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What they’re saying

“From its inception, Insilico Medicine has been developing deep learning for end-to-end drug discovery. By deploying frontier AI technologies that scale from biomarkers to life models, world models of human and animal life, we can identify multi-purpose targets driving multiple diseases at the same time.”

— Alex Zhavoronkov, Founder and CEO, Insilico Medicine

“Insilico's AI-enabled discovery capabilities represent a powerful complement to Lilly's deep expertise in clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas. This collaboration allows us to explore novel mechanisms and accelerate the identification of promising therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.”

— Andrew Adams, Group Vice President of Molecule Discovery, Lilly

What’s next

The collaboration is expected to yield a steady stream of new drug candidates as the two companies work together over the coming years.

The takeaway

This landmark AI-powered drug discovery partnership between Insilico and Lilly demonstrates the transformative potential of frontier technologies like generative AI to accelerate the development of innovative therapies for diseases with high unmet need.