Lilly signs US$1.3 billion deal with Superluminal to discover obesity medicines using AI

A sign for Eli Lilly & Co. stands outside their corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Eli Lilly has signed a deal worth US$1.3 billion with privately held Superluminal Medicines to discover and develop small-molecule drugs through AI to treat obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases.

Lilly currently dominates the obesity treatment market, estimated to be worth $150 billion by the next decade, and is trying to strengthen its foothold in the space through the development of next-generation drugs, acquisitions and partnerships.

The deal gives Lilly exclusive rights to develop and commercialize drug candidates discovered using Superluminal’s proprietary AI-driven platform targeting G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) - a class of proteins that can influence physiological processes including metabolism, cell growth and immune responses - the drug developer said on Thursday.

Drugmakers including Danish rival Novo Nordisk are exploring potential GPCR targets to develop oral small-molecule drugs for obesity.

“GPCRs have established themselves as very important targets in the obesity and cardiometabolic landscape, but we’re at the very early stages of exploration of the target class,” Superluminal CEO Cony D’Cruz told Reuters.

Novo struck a $2.2 billion deal with U.S. biotech Septerna in May to develop small-molecule therapies directed at select GPCR targets.

Lilly has been capitalizing on the overwhelming popularity of the GLP-1 class of medicines, including its blockbuster drug Zepbound as well as Novo’s Wegovy. It is also developing a keenly watched oral GLP-1 drug, orforglipron, which has failed to meet investor expectations.

The drugmaker teamed up with Hong Kong-listed biotech Laekna last year to develop an experimental obesity drug that aims to help patients lose weight while preserving muscle.

As part of the deal, Superluminal is eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments, an equity investment as well as tiered royalties on net sales, the company said.

Boston-based startup Superluminal is developing a wholly owned lead candidate targeting a protein called melanocortin 4 receptor to treat certain rare, genetic forms of obesity and is expected to begin human trials by fourth quarter next year. The lead candidate is not part of the deal with Lilly.

Superluminal is backed by investors including RA Capital Management, Insight Partners and NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)