Eli Lilly has signed a new research agreement with Bighat Biosciences to co-develop next-generation antibody therapeutics, as the Pharma company continues to expand its capabilities in the development of artificial intelligence drugs (AI).
The agreement includes up to two antibody programs, with BIGHAT responsible for the design and engineering of therapeutic antibodies using its proprietary miller platform. The financial terms of the deal have not been revealed.
The Milliner platform combines machine learning (ML) with a fast wet lab based on synthetic biology to address key challenges in the development of antibodies. The technology is designed to optimize multiple antibody attributes at the same time – including affinity, specificity, immunogenicity and manufacturer – aimed at accelerating biology development with improved therapeutic profiles.
As part of the agreement, Lilly makes an equity investment in Bighat and provides additional support through his Catalyze360 initiative. This includes supporting the BIGHAT (GI) Internal Antibodi (GI) antibodies Conjugate program, which is expected to go to clinical trials in 2026. BIGHAT will retain full global rights and development control over the ADC.
The deal represents a continuous push by Lilly to expand its use of AI in the discovery and development of drugs. In 2023, the company Partner with Openai Identify new antimicrobials targeting drug -resistant bacteria and issuing a $ 409m deal in 2024 with a genetic jump, focusing on RNA targeted therapies.
This news was announced on the same day (17 April) with high profile results from a peptid-1 receptor-like drug similar to oral glucagon Eli Lilly (GLP-1RA) Offlipron, which sent the shares of the Pharma company worth millions of millions of dollars to increase significantly.
For BIGHAT, the collaboration with Lilly adds to a growing portfolio of strategic partnerships. Previously, the company has announced research collaborations with Johnson & Johnson (J & J) focused on neuroscience applications and with Abbvie in a deal that included a $ 30m advance payment and up to $ 325m in milestones. The AI -driven company has also hit bargains with MSD and alternative.
Founded in 2019, Bighat promotes a pipeline of preclinical programs across oncology and immunology. These include next -generation ADCS and functional differential T cell (TCES) engagements. In November 2024, BIGHAT received commercial licensing rights to the Synaphix site-specific ADC technology platform, which it uses in its Lead GI Cancer Cancer program. The program is currently in the new drug investigation stage (IND) and is expected to become BIGHAT's first clinical candidate.