Eli Lilly (LLY) Oncology Pipeline and $1B Nvidia (NVDA) AI Partnership Signal Strong 2026 Growth

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of the best US stocks to buy and hold in 2026. On January 20, Eli Lilly received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for sofetabart mipitecan. This status applies to the treatment of adults with platinum-resistant ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer whose disease has progressed despite prior therapies. Following positive Phase 1a/b data, this designation is expected to accelerate development timelines and increase regulatory engagement, significantly boosting the visibility of Lilly’s oncology pipeline.

In other news, earlier on January 12, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced a massive joint venture to build a new research laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area. The two companies committed to spending $1 billion over the next 5 years on the facility. The partnership follows Eli Lilly’s previous initiative to build a supercomputer using over 1,000 Grace Blackwell AI chips.

The new laboratory will use Nvidia’s latest generation of Vera Rubin AI chips to power advanced research. Researchers from both companies will work side-by-side at the facility, the specific location of which is scheduled to be announced in March this year. The goal is to generate high-quality data to train specialized biotech AI models, which drugmakers hope will reduce the time required to design, discover, and bring new treatments to market.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals in the US, Europe, China, Japan, and internationally.

While we acknowledge the potential of LLY as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.