Biopharma companies continued to deepen ties with next-generation technology platforms this week, as two separate collaborations advanced RNA-based vaccine development and AI-driven antibody discovery, underscoring how drugmakers are increasingly turning to outside platform companies to expand their pipelines.

Amplitude Therapeutics inks collaboration with Eli Lilly

Amplitude Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing trans-amplifying RNA (taRNA) medicines and vaccines, announced a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to discover and develop taRNA vaccine candidates for infectious diseases.

As of August 21, financial terms of the agreement have yet to be disclosed.¹

The collaboration is expected to initially focus on undisclosed infectious disease vaccine programs with high unmet need, while El Lilly retains the option to add up to two additional infectious disease targets to the partnership.¹

Amplitude's taRNA approach separates the replicase and antigen-encoding RNA components, an architecture designed to enable flexible antigen design, formulation tuning, and dose optimization across vaccine programs.¹ Compared with other RNA modalities, the company says taRNA may enable enhanced potency, lower doses, and improved manufacturability.

"Our ambition at Amplitude is to build a leading in vivo RNA platform by advancing both taRNA and LNP technologies with significant potential to expand what is possible across vaccines and therapeutics. This collaboration gives us the opportunity to translate and validate our taRNA technology across multiple vaccine programs targeting infectious diseases with high unmet need, leveraging Lilly's global development, manufacturing and commercialization scale," said Dr. Cory Sago, chief executive officer of Amplitude Therapeutics.

Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly is set to receive exclusive, target-specific rights to develop and commercialize licensed products directed to the collaboration targets, while Amplitude leads taRNA optimization and selected preclinical research activities under agreed research plans.¹

Eli Lilly will also be responsible for additional preclinical development, clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory activities, and commercialization. The structure allows Amplitude to concentrate its internal resources on early-stage platform work while relying on Eli Lilly's larger infrastructure to carry candidates through later-stage development and, eventually, to market.¹

Sylvia Taylor, EVP of corporate affairs and Head of Novavax Sweden, discussed with Pharmaceutical Executive how new technologies are allowing more players to enter the vaccine space and develop new therapies, including Eli Lilly. "Eli Lilly, the world's leading biopharma company, is now getting into vaccines themselves. So, despite the complexity and some of the risks and the challenges in the macro environment, what doesn't change is the fact that vaccines remain the number one most cost-effective and simple intervention to prevent disease."

Chai Discovery partners with Bristol Myers Squibb

Chai Discovery has announced a collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to advance the discovery of therapeutic antibodies using artificial intelligence.

Under the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will leverage Chai's AI models and platform capabilities, including its molecular folding and design models, to support the discovery of antibody candidates across its portfolio and to further its efforts to build an AI-powered, continuously learning discovery system.²

Financial terms of the collaboration have not yet been disclosed.²

Chai Discovery uses artificial intelligence to predict and reprogram molecular interactions, helping scientists design new biomolecules with specific properties. The company's models are designed to accelerate drug discovery by generating molecules based on defined criteria along with compressing discovery cycles to pursue targets that traditional discovery methods have historically struggled to reach.

"By combining Chai's advanced AI models with Bristol Myers Squibb's deep therapeutic expertise, we hope to rapidly accelerate the timeline from concept to viable therapeutic candidates," said Joshua Meier, co-founder and chief executive officer of Chai Discovery. "We're thrilled to partner with Bristol Myers Squibb to deploy our technology, including toward diverse drug targets."

Bristol Myers Squibb is the latest biopharmaceutical company to collaborate with Chai Discovery, adding to a growing list of drugmakers turning to the company's platform to help compress the timeline between target identification and viable antibody candidates across a diverse set of drug targets.

Sources

1. Amplitude Therapeutics and Lilly Enter Strategic Collaboration to Develop Trans-Amplifying RNA Vaccines for Infectious Diseases Amplitude Therapeutics August 19, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amplitude-therapeutics-and-lilly-enter-strategic-collaboration-to-develop-trans-amplifying-rna-vaccines-for-infectious-diseases-302855610.html
2. Chai Discovery Announces Collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to Advance AI-Driven Antibody Discovery Chai Discovery August 20, 2026, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260819146905/en/Chai-Discovery-Announces-Collaboration-with-Bristol-Myers-Squibb-to-Advance-AI-Driven-Antibody-Discovery