Eli Lilly Partners with OpenAI to Develop New Antibacterial Drugs

TapTechNews June 26th news. On the 25th local time, the US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced a cooperation with OpenAI to use the latter's generative AI technology to develop new antibacterial drugs for treating drug-resistant pathogens.

Eli Lilly said that currently antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest threats facing the global public health and development fields. AMR affects all regions and countries at all income levels, and poverty and inequality exacerbate this problem, especially bringing the greatest impact and risk to low- and middle-income countries. The abuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, and plants is a major driving factor in the development of drug-resistant pathogens, exacerbating the threat to global health.

TapTechNews learned that the World Health Organization (WHO) reported this month that AMR has become one of the top ten public health threats globally. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to drugs, worsening people's conditions and increasing the risk of difficult-to-treat infections, diseases, and deaths. The WHO calls for an urgent global need for new innovative drugs to treat severe infections and replace those that have failed due to extensive use.

OpenAI's Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap said that advanced AI technology is expected to bring an 'innovation breakthrough' to the pharmaceutical industry. Eli Lilly's Chief Information and Digital Officer Diogo Lau said that generative AI has opened up new opportunities for accelerating the discovery of new antibacterials and developing customized and specialized techniques to combat drug-resistant pathogens.