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Aktis Oncology have announced a multi-target discovery collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to generate anticancer radiopharmaceuticals using Aktis Oncology's novel miniprotein technology platform.
The collaboration draws on Aktis' proprietary radiopharmaceutical platform together with Lilly's expertise in oncology drug development and commercialisation, with the goal of developing first-in-class and differentiated therapeutics for a range of solid tumours.
"Our strategic collaboration with Lilly leverages Aktis' unique miniprotein radiopharmaceutical platform capabilities to address novel targets, while delivering a safe and effective clinical profile," said Matthew Roden, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aktis Oncology. "We are pleased to partner with Lilly in efforts to increase the number of patients that can derive meaningful clinical benefit from targeted radiopharmaceuticals."
Under the terms of the agreement, Aktis will receive a $60 million upfront cash payment for the collaboration in addition to an equity investment in Aktis by Lilly. In addition, Aktis will be eligible to receive up to an additional $1.1 billion in potential preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties.
In exchange, Lilly will receive worldwide rights to develop radiopharmaceutical therapeutic and diagnostic products discovered by Aktis on a defined set of targets selected by Lilly.
"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. We look forward to collaborating with Aktis and utilising this emerging modality to bring forward meaningful new therapies for people with cancer," said Jacob Van Naarden, President, Lilly Oncology.