US-based pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) has announced the expansion of its collaboration with Purdue University over the next eight years, by investing up to $250m
The initial partnership, which is expected to expire in 2027, will now extend to 2032 with an additional four new projects.
The Lilly-Purdue 360 initiative aims to advance pharmaceutical innovation across the entire drug development pipeline, one of the largest industry-academic partnerships in the US.
It targets several objectives, including expediting the delivery of medicines to patients, bridging laboratory discoveries with clinical applications.
The initiative also aims to enhance supply chain resilience and sustainability. Additionally, the collaboration focuses on innovative workforce development strategies.
The expanded partnership is expected to strengthen Indiana’s economy by creating a highly skilled workforce and fostering local innovation.
Lilly’s chair and CEO David Ricks said: “Accelerating the delivery of life-changing medicines demands a highly skilled workforce and continuous innovation across discovery, process development and manufacturing.
“Through this expanded collaboration with Purdue, we look forward to combining our strengths in advanced technologies and cutting-edge science to pioneer new methods of delivering next-generation medicines to advance human health.”
The collaboration will continue existing programmes, such as Lilly Scholars at Purdue and the Lilly and Purdue Research Alliance Centre.
Purdue will provide space for Lilly researchers in West Lafayette, while its researchers will collaborate at Lilly facilities in Indianapolis and Indiana’s LEAP Research District.
The initiative will focus on several key areas, including the application of AI-powered tools to enhance drug discovery methods.
It will leverage machine learning and big data analytics for disease mechanisms, with technology-enabled approaches to advance treatments to regulatory approval.
The initiative also aims to incorporate robotics, AI, and data sciences to scale manufacturing capacity effectively, ensuring improved compliance and sustainability.
Workforce development will be enhanced to maintain a strong talent pipeline for Lilly and other Indiana employers.
The Lilly-Purdue 360 Initiative supports Purdue’s One Health initiative, advancing knowledge and innovation related to animal, human, and plant well-being.
Purdue President Mung Chiang said: “As we stand at the crossroads of artificial intelligence and life sciences, we are witnessing a profound transformation, not just in how we discover new therapies, but also in how we produce and deliver them with unprecedented speed, precision and scale.
“Through our One Health initiative, research institutes in medicine, and rapidly expanding industry partnerships, Purdue is uniquely positioned to help achieve the objectives announced at this summit today.
“Together with key representation from academia, industry and national policy, we can work to transform how manufacturing is onshored and essential medicines are made in America.”
