Eli Lilly inks deal worth over $1.1B to develop new radiopharmaceuticals
Drugmaker Eli Lilly has inked a deal worth over $1 billion to develop new radiopharmaceuticals in concert with biotechnology firm Aktis Oncology.
Under terms of the agreement, Lilly will pay $60 million in cash upfront alongside an equity investment in the Boston-based company. Aktis will be eligible to receive an additional $1.1 billion in royalties and other payments for hitting certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones.
In exchange, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly will gain the rights to develop diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical products discovered by Atkis. The latter, meanwhile, will handle initial human imaging studies, with Lilly taking over clinical development and commercialization from Phase 1 onward.
“This collaboration with Aktis Oncology builds upon our growing radiopharmaceutical capabilities and provides access to an exciting and innovative technology for creating important and differentiated radiopharmaceuticals,” Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology, said May 21. “We look forward to collaborating with Aktis and utilizing this emerging modality to bring forward meaningful new therapies for people with cancer.”
Technology to be utilized will include Aktis Oncology’s novel miniprotein radiopharmaceutical platform. Founded and incubated by private equity firm MPM Capital, Aktis has a “growing oncology pipeline,” with its focus on Nectin-4, a tumor-associated antigen found in urothelial and other cancers.
“Designed for high tumor penetration and long residence time, Aktis Oncology’s molecules will quickly clear other areas of the body, thereby maximizing tumor elimination while minimizing side effects of treatment,” the company said in its announcement. “This approach would enable clinicians to visualize and verify target engagement prior to exposure to therapeutic radioisotopes.”
Lilly marked its entrance into the burgeoning radiopharma space with the $1.4 billion acquisition of Point Biopharma Global last year. The company also was among those pitching in for a $175 million Series B financing round, closed by Mariana Oncology in September.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.