Lilly partners with OpenAI like other pharma giants

Eli Lilly has entered into a partnership with OpenAI to develop new treatments for drug-resistant pathogens, becoming the latest pharmaceutical company to leverage generative artificial intelligence (genAI) technology in its research. This collaboration aims to find solutions for microbial infections, although specific details regarding the application of OpenAI's technology and the financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed.

Other pharmaceutical companies, such as Sanofi and Moderna, have also partnered with OpenAI this year. Sanofi recently announced a collaboration with Formation Bio and OpenAI to accelerate drug development using AI. Moderna has integrated ChatGPT into its internal messaging platform, mChat, to utilize data analytics, image generation, and dose selection capabilities.

Eli Lilly's new alliance with OpenAI aligns with the company's ongoing efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The pharmaceutical giant has previously invested $100 million in the AMR Action Fund, a global initiative dedicated to addressing the threat of antimicrobial resistance by funding antibiotic development. The fund's goal is to introduce two to four new antibiotics to the market by 2030, focusing on the most resistant pathogens.

Earlier this month, the AMR Action Fund supported Elion Therapeutics with an $81 million Series B funding round for the advancement of its clinical-stage antifungal therapy, SF001. The fund has also backed companies like Vedanta Biosciences, which raised $106.5 million to develop a pipeline of defined bacterial consortia therapies. This funding round was co-led by the AMR Action Fund and AXA IM Alts.

Antibiotic resistance is a significant and growing global health crisis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.27 million global deaths were directly attributed to resistant infections in 2019. Despite this alarming statistic, there have been no major breakthroughs in antibiotic development for over five decades. The necessity to use new antibiotics sparingly to prevent resistance has resulted in a lack of incentives for research and development, causing manufacturers to struggle to recoup their investments through sales revenues.

The integration of AI in research processes could revolutionize the discovery of new antibiotics, enabling scientists to identify effective treatments more swiftly and accurately than traditional methods. Diogo Rau, Lilly’s digital officer, highlighted the potential impact of this technology in the announcement of the collaboration, stating: "Generative AI opens a new opportunity to accelerate the discovery of novel antimicrobials and the development of custom, purpose-built technologies in the battle against drug-resistant pathogens."