Eli Lilly and Company has launched TuneLab, a new artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) platform designed to give biotechnology companies access to advanced drug discovery models trained on years of Lilly’s proprietary research data.

The platform represents one of the most significant industry moves to date in making AI-trained drug discovery tools available beyond big pharma. Lilly said the models have been trained on data obtained at a cost of more than $1 billion, with the aim of accelerating the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines.

Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories and Lilly Immunology, said: “Lilly has spent decades building comprehensive datasets for drug discovery. Today, we’re sharing the intelligence gained from that investment to help lift the tide of biotechnology research. Lilly TuneLab was created to be an equalizer 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.”

How TuneLab works

TuneLab gives biotech partners access to Lilly’s drug disposition, safety and preclinical datasets. These include experimental data from hundreds of thousands of molecules. The platform uses a federated learning approach, which allows partners to use the models without exposing their own proprietary information or Lilly’s.

In exchange for access, biotech companies contribute training data, enabling continuous improvement of the models for all users. Lilly said this structure is designed to create a collaborative ecosystem that benefits patients while protecting intellectual property.

TuneLab has been developed in collaboration with global technology providers and AI/ML experts. Lilly also plans to expand the platform’s features, including the addition of predictive models for in vivo small molecule activity, which will be offered exclusively through TuneLab.

Supporting early-stage innovation

The new platform is part of Lilly’s Catalyze360 initiative, which provides support for early-stage biotechnology companies. Alongside TuneLab, Catalyze360 offers strategic investment through Lilly Ventures, laboratory facilities at Lilly Gateway Labs, and development expertise via Lilly ExploR&D.

Nisha Nanda, group vice president and head of Lilly Catalyze360, said: “For many early-stage biotech companies, the promise of AI and machine learning in drug discovery remains just that — a promise. While the industry buzzes about the power of AI/ML to accelerate innovation, most small biotechs face a fundamental hurdle: they simply don’t have access to the large-scale, high-quality data needed to impact decisions and train truly effective models.

“With Lilly TuneLab we’re not just sharing resources, we are also 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.”

By opening up access to its models and data, Lilly is positioning TuneLab as both a scientific tool and a strategic partnership framework for biotechs navigating the high-risk early stages of drug discovery.