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Eli Lilly has signed a new research agreement with Bighhat Biosciences to develop the next generation of antibody therapyutics, while the pharmaceutical company continues to expand its capacities in the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
The agreement comprises a maximum of two antibody programs, where Bighat is responsible for the design and engineering of therapeutic antibodies using its own Milliner platform. Financial conditions of the deal were not disclosed.
The Milliner platform combines Machine Learning (ML) with a high-speed wet lab based on synthetic biology to take on important challenges in the development of antibodies. The technology is designed to optimize multiple antibody attributes at the same time – including affinity, specificity, immunogenity and production – with the aim of accelerating the development of biological medicines with improved therapeutic profiles.
As part of the agreement, Lilly makes a stock investment in Bighhat and offers extra support via its Catalyze360 initiative. This includes the internal Mastro-Intestinal (GI) Cancer Antibody drugs (ADC) program of Bighhat, which is expected to enter into clinical tests in 2026. Bighhat will retain full global rights and development control over the ADC.
The deal represents a continuous push from Lilly to expand the use of AI in discovering and developing medicines. In 2023, the company Work together with OpenAi To identify new antimicrobial agents aimed at drug-resistant bacteria and in 2024 a $ 409 million deal announced with genetic jump, aimed at RNA-oriented therapies.
This news was announced on the same day (April 17) as controversial results of Eli Lilly’s oral Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) medicine OrforGlipron, who sent the shares of the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company to increase considerably.
For Bighat, the collaboration with Lilly contributes to a growing portfolio of strategic partnerships. The company has previously announced research collaborations with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) aimed at neuroscientific applications and with ABBVIE in a deal with a advance payment of $ 30 million and up to $ 325 million in milestones. The AI-driven company has also concluded deals with MSD and Amgen.
Bighhat was founded in 2019 and promotes a pipeline of pre -clinical programs in oncology and immunology. These include ADCs of the next generation and functionally differentiated T-cell engagers (TCES). In November 2024, Bighhat acquired commercial laws at the location-specific ADC technology platform of Synaffix, which uses it in the Lead Gi Cancer ADC program. The program is currently in the investigation into the investigation of the investigation (IND) and is expected to become the first clinical candidate of Bighat.
