Eli Lilly Partners with AI Healthtech Company Superluminal to Advance Small Molecule Therapeutics for Cardiometabolic Diseases and Obesity

Eli Lilly partners with AI healthtech company Superluminal Medicines to advance small molecule therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases and obesity. The deal includes upfront and near-term payments, an equity investment, and potential development and commercial milestone payments of up to $1.3B.

Title: Eli Lilly Partners with Superluminal Medicines to Advance Small Molecule Therapeutics for Cardiometabolic Diseases and Obesity

Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a strategic partnership with Superluminal Medicines, an AI-driven biotechnology firm, to advance the development of small molecule therapeutics targeting cardiometabolic diseases and obesity. The collaboration, announced on July 2, 2025, is a significant milestone for both companies and underscores the potential of Superluminal's cutting-edge platform in drug discovery.

Under the terms of the agreement, Superluminal will utilize its proprietary, structure-based drug discovery platform to identify and optimize small-molecule therapeutics for undisclosed G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets related to cardiometabolic diseases and obesity. Eli Lilly will receive exclusive rights to develop and commercialize these compounds. In return, Superluminal will be eligible to receive up to $1.3 billion, which includes upfront and near-term payments, an equity investment, and development and commercial milestone payments [1].

The deal holds potential to diversify Eli Lilly's pipeline, particularly in the obesity treatment space, following a recent phase 3 readout that underwhelmed investors for its oral GLP-1 option [2]. The collaboration is a testament to the power of Superluminal's platform in delivering high-quality development candidates against historically intractable GPCR targets [3].

Superluminal's platform integrates deep structural biology, machine learning, and proprietary pharmacokinetic and toxicology prediction tools to accelerate the discovery of candidate-ready small molecules. Initial efforts have focused on GPCRs, a historically challenging target class, where functional selectivity and structural complexity demand next-generation computational solutions [2].

Superluminal is headquartered at Lilly Gateway Labs in Boston and is backed by a strong network of investors, including RA Capital Management, Insight Partners, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Catalio Capital Management, Eli Lilly and Company, Gaingels, and Cooley [2].

References:
1. [1] https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/superluminal-secures-13b-pact-backer-lilly-cardiometabolic-obesity-drugs
2. [2] https://drug-dev.com/superluminal-medicines-announces-collaboration-with-eli-lilly-to-advance-small-molecule-therapeutics-for-cardiometabolic-diseases-obesity/
3. [3] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4485800-eli-lilly-partners-with-ai-healthtech-superluminal-medicines