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Corporate 
business development

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Collection of Lilly heritage insulins
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More than a century ago, we collaborated to
launch the world's first commercial insulin. Today,
we continue to leverage our rich history of
partnering to help improve health around
the world.

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Collaborations between innovative scientific teams accelerate ideas toward their next stage of impact. Lilly Corporate Business Development has the expertise and resources to realize our partners’ scientific visions. We strive to bring scientific value to every level of engagement, even if only through an initial conversation.
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Our corporate business development teams

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Search & evaluation

The search & evaluation teams, dedicated to each of our core therapeutic areas, identify promising science worldwide that can benefit from our support.

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Transactions

With designated team members representing our core therapeutic areas, the Transactions team engages in a variety of deal structures that include in- and out-licensing, direct equity investments, mergers and acquisitions and 
innovative partnerships.

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Alliance & innovation management

Partnerships benefit most from dedicated teams and focused insights. The Alliance & Innovation Management team helps maximise the value of each strategic partnered asset, keeping the long-term vision in mind. Learn more about the team.

Magnifying glass icon

Search & evaluation

The search & evaluation teams, dedicated to each of our core therapeutic areas, identify promising science worldwide that can benefit from our support.

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Transactions icon

Transactions

With designated team members representing our core therapeutic areas, the Transactions team engages in a variety of deal structures that include in- and out-licensing, direct equity investments, mergers and acquisitions and 
innovative partnerships.

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Handshake icon

Alliance & innovation management

Partnerships benefit most from dedicated teams and focused insights. The Alliance & Innovation Management team helps maximise the value of each strategic partnered asset, keeping the long-term vision in mind. Learn more about the Alliance & Innovation Management team.

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Scientific areas
of interest

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Partnering with scientific innovators across the industry discovering game-changing breakthroughs helps create better outcomes for patients. See our focus areas below or reach out to tell us about your science.
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Cardiometabolic Health

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We've been a global leader in diabetes care for nearly 150 years and remain strongly committed to expanding horizons in diabetes research and related complications.

Areas of interest include:

  • Obesity / metabolic health and related indications (e.g., cachexia, sarcopenia, bone health, longevity-related indications, rare endocrinological diseases)
  • Heart failure (HFpEF and HFrEF) and related indications (e.g., hypertension, pulmonary arterial hypertension, atrial fibrillation)
  • Diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2)
  • Chronic kidney disease (Primary focus on stage 3b-4)
  • Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

We are also broadly interested in the following:

  • Technologies: Novel peptide delivery (e.g., oral / sustained-release formulations or ingestible devices) or tissue / organ targeting (e.g., adipocytes, beta cells, skeletal muscle)
  • Targets: New targets via genetic/-omics and AI/ML approaches.

Specific areas of interest by indication are listed below:

Obesity / Metabolic health and related indications
Mechanisms of Action (MoAs) of interest:

  • GLP-1 / incretin add-on (both oral and injectable)
  • Body composition (e.g., preservation / promotion of lean body mass)
  • Energy expenditure
  • Mitochondrial health
  • Durability / set-point modulation

Heart failure and related indications
MoAs of interest:

  • Next generation oral/injectable approaches on myocardium and heart function, e.g., mitochondrial function, inflammation, repair/regeneration
  • Cargo delivery to cardiomyocytes
  • Target identification / validation
  • Novel preclinical platforms (improve predictability / translatability)
    Inflammation

Diabetes
Specific areas of interest:

  • Beta-cell boosters / improvement in beta-cell health and function
  • Beta cell access to provide cargo delivery
  • Islet cell therapy
    • Gene editing to improve immunotolerance and viability
  • Next-gen immunomodulation

Chronic kidney disease
MoAs of interest:

  • Remodeling / regeneration of tissue
  • Technologies of interest: Delivery to specific kidney cell types / structures
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Digital Health

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We're excited to support innovative medicines with cutting-edge digital technology. We're broadly interested in the following across our pipeline and indications:

  • Validated digital biomarkers and endpoints: To measure safety / efficacy or medications, including technologies that enable novel digital biomarker development
  • Patient-facing drug companion application / digital solutions (medication initiation to medication management): For adherence, management / monitoring of comorbidities / side effects, titration optimization, dosing optimization, outcomes measurement
  • Clinical devices (approved / ready for research): Connected vitals devices (e.g., BP, HR, pulse ox, temp), connected ECG devices (multi-lead)
  • Clinical software / applications: Telemedicine app / SaaS with auto-translations, "virtual" and on-demand Clinical Service Providers, adjudication management software, multi-system security manager to enable SSO, EMR / EHR integration software (between Clinical Research data collection and EMRs), central certification / mutual recognition for imaging centers for research, compliant and research-ready calendaring and messaging
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Genetic Medicines

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We're working to advance genetic medicine therapeutics by fostering innovation and transformational science. We look to expand our pipeline within and beyond our core therapeutic areas of interest and serve the unmet needs of patients, including adjacent comorbidities.

Technologies of interest:

  • Novel delivery and expression methods (e.g., viral and non-viral vectors, promoters and other regulatory elements)
  • Genome editing tools
  • Oligonucleotide therapeutics (e.g., ASOs, small RNA platforms, mRNA therapeutics, gene replacement)
  • Novel routes of administration (e.g., device-assisted delivery, cell/tissue-specific bioconjugates)
  • Solutions that can improve the specificity, potency, and toxicity profiles of our molecules (e.g., AI, non-animal models)

Targets of interest:

  • Heritable gene mutations
  • Gene-environment interactions-based targets (e.g., epigenetic)
  • Functionally curative targets
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Immunology

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We have a growing portfolio of solutions for patients in areas of high unmet need, including dermatology, rheumatology and gastroenterology. Indications of interest include:

Dermatology

  • Atopic dermatitis
  • Psoriasis
  • Hidradenitis suppurativa
  • Urticaria

Rheumatology

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Psoriatic arthritis
  • Spondyloarthropathy (PsA, axSpA)
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus

Gastroenterology

  • Crohn’s disease
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis
  • Celiac disease

Other

  • Fibrosis (e.g., IPF, SSc)
  • Progressive forms of multiple sclerosis
  • Type 1 diabetes (T1DM)

Our additional areas of interest include:

  • Nanoparticles for use in immune tolerance
  • Protein knockdown (e.g., siRNA, protein degradation)
  • Tissue-targeted delivery platforms
  • Cellular therapeutics
  • In Vivo CART
  • Precision medicine
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Molecule Innovation

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We are broadly interested in novel platforms across most indications, including:

Biologics
Protein platforms of interest:

  • Antibody discovery
  • Antibody engineering
  • AI/ML applications to drug discovery and development
  • De novo protein design
  • GPCR and multi-pass transmembrane proteins
  • Conjugation

Other delivery technologies of interest:

  • Oral delivery of large molecules
  • BBB transporters

Synthetic molecules
Novel synthetic molecule drug development methods of interest:

  • Conjugate manufacturing and development (e.g., ADC, ARC)
  • Oligonucleotide manufacturing capabilities
  • Continuous manufacturing capabilities

Other technologies of interest:

  • Delivery technologies (e.g., lipid nanoparticle, oral peptide)
  • Small molecule RNA modulation
  • Antibody / drug conjugation (linker/payload)
  • Novel ligand identification
  • Modulation of protein – protein interaction
  • Small molecule discovery via computational methods and AI/ML
  • Protein degradation technology (e.g., bi-functional degradation, molecular 
glue etc.)
  • Novel screening methodologies
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Neuroscience

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We're working to find medicines for the treatment of neurological disease, psychiatry and chronic pain.

Neurology
Indications of interest include:

  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
  • Other related proteinopathies (e.g., Huntington’s, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, frontotemporal dementia)
  • Related monogenic neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., lysosomal storage disorders, leukodystrophies)
  • Peripheral neuropathies
  • Neurological disorders characterized by neuronal hyperexcitability e.g., seizure

MoAs of interest include:

  • Inhibition of protein misfolding, accumulation, aggregation and spread
  • Proteostasis
  • Inhibition of neuro-, axonal- and synaptic degeneration
  • Symptomatic treatments for neurological disease with clinical evidence (e.g., psychosis, cognitive impairment, agitation, mood, movement, sleep)

Technologies of interest:

  • Blood-brain-barrier delivery
  • Protein knockdown (e.g., siRNA, protein degradation)
  • Exon splicing modulation
  • Gene therapy and editing
  • Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease

Pain:
Indications of interest:

  • Chronic neuropathic pain (e.g., diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, neuropathic back pain, post-traumatic neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis pain)
  • Musculoskeletal pain (e.g., osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain, degenerative disc disease, fibromyalgia)

MoAs of interest:

  • Symptomatic relief of pain and improvement of function
  • Prevention or repair of peripheral nerve damage and neuropathies
  • Damage prevention or joint repair in musculoskeletal disease

Technologies of interest:

  • Delivery (e.g., blood-brain barrier, peripheral nerves)
  • Protein knockdown or modulation (e.g., siRNA, gene therapy, protein degradation)
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Oncology

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We're actively seeking Oncology partnerships with world-class industry and academic collaborators to optimize and accelerate the development of new cancer medicines. We're focused on opportunities across discovery and development stage assets with the potential to:

  • Demonstrate unequivocal activity early in the drug development process
  • Deliver outsized and differentiated effects for patients

We are agnostic to the biologic basis of programs, so long as we have high conviction in the science and believe they will matter for patients.

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Lilly research & development
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We push the limits of today's science for the promise of delivering tomorrow's medicines.
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Learn more about R&D at Lilly
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/science/research-development
Learn more about R&D at Lilly
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Lilly research award program
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The Lilly research award program provides a pre-competitive collaborative environment in which an external partner can gain invaluable access to our expertise and resources to advance high-risk, high-reward science.
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Learn more about the program
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/science/partners/research-award-program
Learn more about the Lilly research award program
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Connect with us

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Our teams are ready to connect with you and learn more about 
your science.
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Let's connect
link
/science/partners/connect-with-us