Eli Lilly and Company has launched Lilly TuneLab, an artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) platform designed to provide biotechnology companies with access to advanced drug discovery models. These models have been trained on decades of Lilly’s proprietary research, representing more than $1 billion in investment.
The platform is part of the Lilly Catalyze360 initiative, which supports early-stage drug development through strategic funding, laboratory facilities, and scientific expertise. TuneLab aims to level the playing field for smaller biotech firms by granting access to high-quality AI capabilities usually reserved for large pharmaceutical organisations.
Expanding access to AI in biotech
Lilly TuneLab leverages comprehensive drug disposition, safety, and preclinical datasets, covering experimental data from hundreds of thousands of molecules. Selected biotech partners not only gain access to these AI tools but also contribute training data, ensuring the system continues to evolve and improve.
Hosted by a third-party provider, the platform uses federated learning — a privacy-preserving approach that protects both partner and Lilly data. Future updates will expand the platform’s features, including exclusive predictive models for in vivo small molecule studies.
Empowering smaller biotechnology companies
According to Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and President of Lilly Research Laboratories and Lilly Immunology:
Lilly TuneLab was created to be an equaliser so that smaller companies can access some of the same AI capabilities used every day by Lilly scientists. By opening up access, we hope to accelerate the creation of new medicines for patients who need them.
Nisha Nanda, Ph.D., Group Vice President and Head of Lilly Catalyze360, added:
With Lilly TuneLab we’re not just sharing resources, we are compressing decades of learning into instantly accessible intelligence. Through this platform, we can help our biotech partners unlock novel scientific insights, make smart development decisions earlier, and increase their likelihood of success.
Part of the Catalyze360 ecosystem
TuneLab complements other Catalyze360 offerings, including Lilly Ventures for strategic investment, Lilly Gateway Labs for laboratory access, and Lilly ExploR&D for scientific collaboration.
