March 29 (Reuters) - Insilico Medicine said on Sunday it

is partnering with Eli Lilly ( LLY ) in a deal worth up to $2.75

billion, expanding an existing collaboration on AI-powered drug

discovery.

Lilly will use Insilico's AI engine and receive an exclusive

worldwide license for the development, manufacturing, and

commercialization of certain oral treatments currently in

preclinical development.

Under the terms of the agreement, Insilico is eligible to

receive a $115 million upfront payment, followed by development,

regulatory, and commercial milestones that could bring the total

deal value to approximately $2.75 billion, plus tiered royalties

on future sales.

"By deploying AI technologies that scale from biomarkers to

life models, world models of human and animal life, we can

identify multi-purpose targets driving multiple diseases at the

same time," said Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico

Medicine.

Lilly and Insilico had signed a research collaboration in

November, broadening a partnership that began with an AI-based

software licensing agreement in 2023.