In a sweeping push to expand its pipeline and embrace artificial intelligence in drug discovery, Eli Lilly and Company has announced two major strategic moves: a multi-billion-dollar collaboration with Insilico Medicine and a planned acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals.
According to the companies’ official statements, the deals signal Lilly’s growing investment in next-generation drug development, combining AI-powered discovery with targeted neuroscience innovation.
AI partnership targets faster drug discovery
Lilly’s collaboration with Insilico Medicine focuses on using artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery and development of new therapies across multiple disease areas.
Under the agreement, Lilly will gain an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a portfolio of preclinical oral therapeutics. The companies will also work together on additional research programs, combining Insilico’s AI-driven Pharma.AI platform with Lilly’s clinical and disease-area expertise.
Insilico said it is eligible to receive $115 million upfront, with the total potential deal value reaching approximately $2.75 billion through milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on future sales.
“Working with Lilly, we aim to deliver transformative therapies that treat diseases with high unmet need,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO of Insilico Medicine, in the company’s announcement.
Lilly executives emphasized that AI could help uncover new biological targets and speed up early-stage discovery, a process that has traditionally taken years.
$6.3B neuroscience bet on sleep disorders
In a separate move, Lilly announced a definitive agreement to acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at about $6.3 billion upfront, with an additional $1.5 billion in potential milestone payments.
The acquisition centers on Centessa’s portfolio of orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists—an emerging class of therapies targeting the brain’s sleep-wake system.
The company’s lead candidate, cleminorexton, has already shown promising results in Phase 2a studies for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia, according to company data.
“Orexin receptor biology represents one of the most compelling mechanistic opportunities in neuroscience”
said Carole Ho, president of Lilly Neuroscience, in the official release.
If approved, these therapies could address excessive daytime sleepiness and potentially expand into broader neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Strategic shift toward innovation at scale
The acquisition will be executed through a scheme of arrangement under UK law and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Centessa shareholders are set to receive $38 per share in cash, plus contingent value rights that could bring total compensation to $47 per share if certain regulatory milestones are met.
Together, the two deals highlight Lilly’s broader strategy: investing heavily in both high technology and high-potential therapeutic areas. AI-driven drug discovery, once seen as experimental, is rapidly becoming central to how major pharmaceutical companies build pipelines. At the same time, targeted acquisitions like Centessa reflect a continued focus on specialized, high-impact disease areas.
A growing trend in pharma
The announcements come as competition intensifies among drugmakers to integrate AI into research and secure promising assets earlier in development.
By pairing Insilico’s AI capabilities with its own clinical infrastructure and adding Centessa’s neuroscience portfolio Lilly is positioning itself at the intersection of technology and therapeutics.
For patients, the companies say, the goal is simple: faster development of more effective treatments for diseases that still lack good options.