Eli Lilly Enters $880 Million Collaboration with Sitryx to Advance Novel Immunometabolism Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases

Compiled by Fan Dongdong

Recently, Eli Lilly and biopharmaceutical company Sitryx announced that they have reached a global exclusive licensing and R&D collaboration agreement to jointly develop four preclinical therapeutic candidates for autoimmune diseases discovered by Sitryx.

Under the terms of the transaction, Eli Lilly will pay Sitryx a $50 million upfront payment. Additionally, Eli Lilly will make a $10 million equity investment in Sitryx. In the future, Sitryx will also be eligible for up to $820 million in development milestone payments, as well as commercial milestone payments and royalties. In return, Sitryx will grant Eli Lilly exclusive global licensing rights to develop and market up to four compounds targeting immunometabolic diseases.

It is reported that the partnership between the two companies will last for five years, with Sitryx primarily responsible for drug development and Eli Lilly providing financial support while advancing the clinical development and commercialization of the drug.

Sitryx was founded in 2018 with seed funding from SV Health Investors. In October of the same year, Sitryx announced the successful completion of a $30 million Series A financing round, led by SV Health and Sofinnova Partners, with participation from Longwood Fund and GSK. The company focuses on modulating cellular metabolism to develop disease-modifying therapies in immuno-oncology and immuno-inflammation.

Regarding this collaboration, Weir Neill, CEO of Sitryx, stated: “We are delighted to partner with Eli Lilly. We are committed to discovering novel targets and developing innovative therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases within the rapidly evolving field of immunometabolism. This agreement is transformative for Sitryx, demonstrating our expertise and strength, as well as our potential to become a leader in this field.”

Ajay Nirula, Vice President of Immunology at Eli Lilly, stated, “Eli Lilly is committed to developing novel and distinctive therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases. We are actively exploring a variety of therapeutic approaches both in our own laboratories and in collaboration with external partners. Modulating immune cell metabolism represents a promising therapeutic strategy for these conditions, and we look forward to advancing the development of new immunometabolic disease treatments together with Sitryx.”

Just one day before reaching a cooperation agreement with Sitryx, Eli Lilly’s anti-inflammatory drug Taltz was approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of pediatric patients aged 6 to 18 years with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. This approval makes Taltz the first and currently only IL-17A antagonist approved for treating patients in this age group.

Reference Source: Lilly and Sitryx Sign $880 Million+ 5-Year Development Deal