On April 17, 2025 BigHat Biosciences ("BigHat"), a biotechnology company with a machine learning (ML)-guided antibody discovery and development platform, reported a strategic collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company ("Lilly") (Press release, BigHat Biosciences, APR 17, 2025, View Source [SID1234651981]). In this collaboration, BigHat will deploy its Milliner platform, a suite of state-of-the-art ML technologies integrated with a synthetic biology-based high-speed wet lab, to design and engineer therapeutic antibodies with superior functionality.
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BigHat and Lilly will collaborate to design and discover next-generation antibodies for up to two antibody therapeutic programs. This partnership aims to design, engineer, and develop antibodies with enhanced functionality and improved biophysical properties to create therapeutics that will benefit patients with chronic disease.
"Partnering with Lilly represents an exciting opportunity to harness the full potential of AI-driven biologic design. By combining Lilly’s deep expertise in drug discovery and development with BigHat’s machine learning-powered Milliner platform, we can accelerate the advancement of truly differentiated, next-generation protein therapeutics," said Peyton Greenside, CEO and Co-founder of BigHat.
This collaboration builds on BigHat’s strategy to engage in value-generating strategic partnerships balanced with an exciting internal pipeline of proprietary therapeutics in the areas of oncology and immunology. BigHat’s ML-powered platform is designed to tackle molecular engineering challenges and unlock the development of novel therapeutics for the improvement of patient outcomes. In addition to supporting the development of its partners’ therapeutic programs, BigHat has built and advanced a pipeline of next-gen antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and functionally differentiated T-cell engagers (TCEs) across indications in both oncology and immunology. BigHat is advancing a next-generation ADC for GI cancers into the clinic in 2026. Lilly Catalyze360 will provide support, while BigHat retains full global rights and control to the program.
In addition to the antibody discovery collaboration and support for BigHat’s ADC for GI cancers, Lilly will also make an equity investment in BigHat. This collaboration is part of the Lilly Catalyze360 model, which is a comprehensive approach to empower early-stage biotech startups across all therapeutic areas by providing access to funding as well as world-class lab space and/or drug development talent and resources through its three pillars: Lilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, and Lilly ExploR&D.