Lilly Launches AI Platform for Early-Stage Biotechs

Strategic Insights -

Eli Lilly has introduced Lilly TuneLab, a machine learning platform that allows selected early-stage biotechs to access drug discovery models trained on years of research data. The platform, hosted by a third party, employs federated learning to enable companies to take advantage of Lilly's AI models without sharing proprietary data. In return, biotech users will contribute training data to fuel continuous improvement for the benefit of others in the ecosystem and ultimately patients.

Key Takeaways:

  • Lilly TuneLab is an AI platform that provides early-stage biotechs with access to drug discovery models trained on years of research data.
  • The platform is hosted by a third party and uses federated learning to enable companies to access AI models without sharing proprietary data.
  • Biotech users will contribute training data to fuel continuous improvement for the benefit of others in the ecosystem and ultimately patients.
  • The platform is part of Lilly's Catalyze360 initiative, which includes the pharma's investment arm, Lilly Ventures, and its Gateway Labs.
  • The first partners to collaborate with Lilly on TuneLab are Macrocycle therapy-focused and metabolic-disease- and neuroscience-focused insitro.
  • Lilly estimates that the total cost of the drug disposition, safety and preclinical data that has gone into the first iteration of TuneLab comes to more than $1 billion.
  • The longer-term plan for TuneLab is to further develop the platform's features in subsequent releases, including the addition of in vivo small molecule predictive models.
  • Lilly Chief Scientific Officer Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., says that TuneLab was created to be an equalizer, allowing smaller companies to access AI capabilities used by Lilly scientists every day.
  • Insitro CEO Daphne Koller, Ph.D., comments that the company is excited to partner with Lilly in bringing machine learning capabilities to their unique dataset.

Statistics:

  • $1 billion: estimated total cost of the drug disposition, safety and preclinical data that has gone into the first iteration of TuneLab.
  • Years: duration of research data used to train Lilly TuneLab models.
  • 2024: year in which Lilly CEO David Ricks first unveiled the Catalyze360 initiative.

Sources:

  • "Lilly Unveils AI Platform to Spur Innovation in Drug Discovery"
  • "Eli Lilly Creates AI Platform for Biotechs to Access Drugs Discoveries"
  • "Catalyze360: Lilly's Initiative to Catalyze Innovation in Drug Discovery"