BioArctic signs potential $1bn Alzheimers research deal with Eli Lilly
BioArctic AB has signed a research and collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly potentially worth $1 billion, researching a new treatment combining BioArctic's proprietary BrainTransporter technology with an undisclosed Lilly drug candidate in neurodegeneration.
Why it matters: The deal builds on a similar deal with Novartis, and follows the success of lecanemab, the Alzheimer’s drug originally developed by the Stockholm-based biotech, now known as Leqembi and marketed by Eisai and Biogen.
By the numbers: BioArctic will receive US$30 million upfront, and could receive additional milestone payments of up to US$ 770 million. BioArctic will also be entitled to tiered mid-single digit royalties on future global product sales if the product reaches the market.
What’s next: Under the collaboration, BioArctic will generate a new drug candidate combining its BrainTransporter technology with a Lilly proprietary molecule. Lilly will assume full responsibility for the global development and commercialization of the drug candidate and related products.
The big picture: It is the fourth major agreement signed by BioArctic, which already has R&D deals signed with major players in dementia research.
- Aside from the Novartis deal, the Stockholm biotech has a deal with Eisai to research Alzheimer’s drug BAN 2802, and another with Bristol-Myers Squibb relating to PyroGlutamate-amyloid-beta (PyroGlu-Aβ) antibodies including BAN1503 and BAN2803.
- The BrainTransporter platform can be used in different therapy areas to deliver biologics and other modalities to the brain, which BioArctic hopes can produce further partnering opportunities.
Catch up quick: When it was approved in 2023, Leqembi was seen as a major milestone in the treatment of Alzheimer’s after years of failed trials investigating therapies targeting the amyloid plaques that build in the brains of people with the disease.
- Scientists at Uppsala University (Sweden) developed and isolated a mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb158) that specifically targeted soluble amyloid-beta protofibrils associated with Alzheimer’s, which BioArctic then humanised to prevent an immune reaction.
- In 2007 BioArctic partnered with Eisai to develop the drug, with Biogen coming on board in 2014 in a joint development and commercialization agreement.
- While Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab) was quickly approved in 2021 but discontinued in 2024 because of doubts over its clinical benefits, Leqembi has stayed on the market since its approval in 2023, becoming the first drug to moderately slow cognitive and functional decline.
