Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has announced two major deals within 24 hours, committing over $9 billion to expand its drug development pipeline through artificial intelligence and a strategic acquisition.
The first deal, announced on March 30, 2026, is a partnership with Hong Kong-based Insilico Medicine valued at up to $2.75 billion. Insilico will receive $115 million upfront, with the remaining value tied to regulatory and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on future sales. In exchange, Eli Lilly gains exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize treatments discovered through the partnership.
Insilico has built its reputation on applying AI across the entire drug discovery process, from target identification to compound design. The company claims to have developed more than 28 drugs using generative AI, with nearly half already in clinical-stage trials. The two companies are not new partners, having first collaborated in 2023 under an AI software licensing agreement.
Andrew Adams, group vice president of Molecule Discovery at Lilly, called Insilico's AI platform "a powerful complement" to Lilly's clinical development work. Insilico CEO Alex Zhavoronkov noted Lilly's strength in integrating biology, chemistry, and automation, stating, "In many ways, Lilly is better than us in some areas of AI." As part of the deal, Insilico will join Lilly's Gateway Labs biotech development network.
The second deal, announced on March 31, 2026, is the acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a transaction valued at approximately $6.3 billion. Lilly will pay $38 per share in cash and has offered one non-transferrable contingent value right (CVR) worth roughly $9 per share, which could push the total deal value to around $7.8 billion if certain development milestones are met.
The acquisition marks Lilly's strategic entry into the sleep-wake disorder treatment market. Centessa brings a pipeline focused on orexin receptor agonists, a promising class of drugs for conditions like narcolepsy. Centessa's U.S.-listed stock surged 46% in premarket trading following the announcement.
These back-to-back deals underscore Lilly's aggressive investment in building a drug pipeline that extends beyond its current blockbuster weight-loss treatments. The company is also building a research hub in San Francisco, investing in advanced computing systems, and has announced plans to invest $3 billion in China over the next decade.
