On Aug. 14, 2025, Eli Lilly has signed a deal worth $1.3 billion with privately held Superluminal Medicines to discover and develop small-molecule drugs through AI to treat obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases.

Lilly currently dominates the obesity treatment market, estimated to be worth $150 billion by the next decade, and is trying to strengthen its foothold in the space through the development of next-generation drugs, acquisitions and partnerships.

The deal gives Lilly exclusive rights to develop and commercialize drug candidates discovered using Superluminal’s proprietary AI-driven platform targeting G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) – a class of proteins that can influence physiological processes including metabolism, cell growth and immune responses – the drug developer said.

As part of the deal, Superluminal is eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments, an equity investment as well as tiered royalties on net sales, the company said.

Boston-based startup Superluminal is developing a wholly owned lead candidate targeting a protein called melanocortin 4 receptor to treat certain rare, genetic forms of obesity and is expected to begin human trials by fourth quarter next year. The lead candidate is not part of the deal with Lilly.00:12