NVIDIA and Eli Lilly have announced a new partnership to make an AI lab focused on solving major challenges in the pharmaceutical industry using artificial intelligence (AI). The lab will combine Lilly's expertise in medicine with NVIDIA's AI technology and computing power.
The two companies plan to invest up to USD 1 billion over the next five years to support the lab, which will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The aim is to adopt AI to fasten the development of new medicines by operating along with prominent scientists as well as AI engineers from both companies.
Key Focus Areas:
- AI for Drug Discovery: The lab will make a consistent system that links wet labs (biological experiments) with dry labs (computational analysis). This will bring AI to assist in experiments 24/7, aiding scientists in improving their work through constant feedback.
- Advanced AI Models: The teams will use NVIDIA's BioNeMo platform to build powerful AI models for biology and chemistry, speeding up drug development as well as optimizing molecules.
- AI in Manufacturing: In addition to drug discovery, the lab will explore using AI to improve manufacturing, clinical trials, and supply chains. For example, AI and robotics will help Lilly improve manufacturing capacity and ensure reliable supply chains.
- Digital Twins: Lilly will use NVIDIA's Omniverse as well as RTX PRO Servers to create digital twins of its manufacturing lines. These virtual models will help test and optimize production processes before making real-world changes.
The lab will open in South San Francisco later this year, bringing together Lilly's scientists and NVIDIA's AI engineers to push the boundaries of biomedical discovery.
Executive Statement
According to Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, AI is transforming every industry, and its most profound impact will be in life sciences. NVIDIA and Lilly are bringing together the best of their industries to invent a new blueprint for drug discovery, one where scientists can explore vast biological and chemical spaces in silico before a single molecule is made.