Eli Lilly Terminates Collaboration Agreement with NextCure on Immuno-Oncology Development

In a brief SEC filing recently, Maryland-based NextCure stated that on January 10, 2020, Eli Lilly and Company notified NextCure that the research and development collaboration agreement signed between Eli Lilly and Company and NextCure on November 2, 2018, would terminate on March 3, 2020. Shortly after NextCure announced the news on Monday morning, its stock price fell by 6%.

On November 2, 2018, Eli Lilly and Company and NextCure officially signed a collaboration agreement to jointly develop next-generation cancer immunotherapies. The partnership aims to leverage NextCure’s proprietary FIND-IO platform to discover novel oncology targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly and NextCure will each obtain exclusive option rights to antibodies arising from the licensing agreement. Eli Lilly will pay NextCure $40 million, comprising a $25 million upfront payment and a $15 million equity investment. If Eli Lilly further develops and commercializes any drug candidates under the partnership, NextCure will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties.

NextCure is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing next-generation immunotherapies for cancer and other diseases. It is operated by a team of former Amplimmune executives, led by President and CEO Michael Richman. Amplimmune was acquired by AstraZeneca for $500 million in 2013.

The company was spun out of Yale University and holds a license to technologies from the laboratory of its scientific founder, Dr. Lieping Chen. A pioneer in immuno-oncology, Dr. Chen and his team have discovered numerous novel immune-related targets, including the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.