Lila Biologics, Eli Lilly Partner For Radioligand Therapies

Seattle-based biotech company Lila Biologics has entered a global licensing and multitarget research collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co., focusing on discovering, developing, and commercializing radioligand therapies for imaging and treating solid tumors. In conjunction with this partnership, Lila launched two protein therapeutics platforms powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning to tackle both cancer and nononcology diseases.

Lila’s platforms include a targeted radiotherapy/oncology platform for solid tumors and a long-acting injectables platform for nononcology conditions. Both leverage Lila’s proprietary AI/ML-powered protein design engine to lay the groundwork for new drug discovery and innovative treatments. As part of the collaboration, Lila will design precision-targeted proteins for radioligand therapy and pursue program discovery through development candidate selection, while Eli Lilly will focus on investigational new drug studies, global clinical development, and commercialization.

Jake Kraft, CEO and cofounder of Lila Biologics, emphasized that the company’s technology extends beyond ML-enabled design of high-affinity binders, allowing for precision-targeted proteins with optimized drug-like properties that could unlock a new generation of therapies capable of significantly improving patients’ quality of life and extending survival.

Earlier this month, Eli Lilly received FDA breakthrough therapy designation for olomorasib in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for first-line treatment of patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer carrying a KRAS G12C mutation and PD-L1 expression ≥50%, determined by FDA-approved tests. In April, the company filed lawsuits against four compounders—Mochi Health, Fella Health and Delilah, Henry Meds, and Willow Health Services—for selling unapproved products containing tirzepatide, a key ingredient in Lilly’s weight-loss and diabetes drugs, including top-seller Mounjaro.

In 2024, Lilly Digital Health and its subsidiary, Lilly Centre for Clinical Pharmacology (LCCP), launched a SGD$42 million digital health innovation hub in Singapore, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board. The hub, equipped with Lilly’s Magnol.AI platform, enables advanced ingestion, visualization, and processing of high-frequency sensor data from wearable devices, which can be analyzed alongside clinician and patient-reported outcomes for real-time data-driven insights.

That same year, Eli Lilly partnered with AI and RNA genetic-medicine company Genetic Leap to advance genetic medicine therapeutics. Building on a pilot program using Genetic Leap’s RNA-targeted AI platform, the partnership focuses on producing oligonucleotide drugs aimed at targets selected by Lilly in key therapeutic areas. Lilly committed up to $409 million in upfront commercial, development, regulatory, and clinical payments, along with tiered royalties, to support the collaboration.

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