Eli Lilly has agreed to pay privately held Superluminal Medicines as much as $1.3 billion to discover and develop small-molecule therapies for obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases. The partnership grants Lilly exclusive rights to compounds generated by Superluminal’s artificial-intelligence platform, which targets G-protein-coupled receptors—proteins considered difficult to drug but central to metabolic regulation. Superluminal will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, a Lilly equity investment, development and commercial milestones, and tiered royalties on any future sales. The Boston-based start-up’s lead melanocortin-4 receptor program is excluded from the deal, but the companies said they will prioritise additional GPCR targets identified through Superluminal’s “Hyperloop” discovery engine. The agreement deepens Lilly’s push to defend its lead in an obesity market that analysts see reaching roughly $150 billion within a decade. It follows last week’s mixed Phase 3 data for Lilly’s oral GLP-1 candidate orforglipron and mirrors rival Novo Nordisk’s recent GPCR alliances. Lilly shares gained about 1.3% in pre-market trading on 13 August after regulatory filings showed Chief Executive Officer David Ricks and other executives bought stock amid a brief sell-off, including a purchase of roughly $1 million by the CEO. The insider buying and the latest R&D deal underscore management’s confidence in the company’s long-term obesity strategy.