June 24 (Reuters) – U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly will collaborate on experimental medicines with a unit of oncology-specialist Abbisko Cayman, with potential payments of up to around $1.9 billion if milestones are met, the Chinese drugmaker said on Tuesday.
The deal marks another business win for Abbisko Cayman’s up-and-coming subsidiary Abbisko Therapeutics, which in 2022 entered into a collaboration agreement with Lilly to discover, develop and potentially commercialise a small-molecule therapeutic.
The latest deal with Lilly involves “medicines across multiple targets”, Abbisko Cayman said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Shares of the Shanghai-headquartered firm were up about 4% after the announcement.
Under the terms, Abbisko Therapeutics will conduct discovery and early development activities for drug programs.
Abbisko Therapeutics and Lilly aim to “accelerate the advancement of innovative therapeutic programs and bring new treatment options to patients worldwide,” Abbisko Cayman said.
Abbisko Therapeutics declined to comment to Reuters on the types of diseases covered by the collaboration. Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Abbisko Therapeutics is eligible to receive an upfront payment for an undisclosed amount and up to about $1.9 billion in additional payments tied to development, regulatory and commercial-related milestones.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver in Shanghai and additional reporting by Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Kate Mayberry)
