Merus is eligible to get up to $1.6bn for three products as potential development and commercialisation milestone payment. Credit: Colin Behrens from Pixabay.

Research and development group of Eli Lilly and Company, Loxo Oncology at Lilly, and clinical-stage oncology company Merus have announced a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement to develop T-Cell re-directing bispecific antibodies.

Under the partnership, Merus’ Biclonics platform will be used alongside Loxo Oncology at Lilly’s scientific and rational drug design expertise to research and develop up to three CD3-engaging antibody therapies.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Merus will lead the discovery and early stage research while Loxo Oncology at Lilly will oversee additional research, development and commercialisation of the therapies.

Loxo Oncology at Lilly chief operating officer Jacob Van Naarden said: “CD3-engaging bispecific antibodies are rapidly becoming one of the most transformative immune-modulating modalities used to treat cancer.

“Merus has built a differentiated platform and one that we believe can enable us to create bispecific antibody therapies with wider therapeutic indexes than those available today.”

Merus will receive an upfront cash payment of $40m and an equity investment by Lilly worth $20m in Merus common shares.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

In addition, Merus is eligible to get up to $540m per product as in potential development and commercialisation milestone payment, totalling to approximately $1.6bn for three products.

On Lilly successfully marketing a therapy from the partnership, Merus will receive tiered royalties in mid-single to low-double digits on product sales.

Merus president and CEO Bill Lundberg said: “The collaboration with Loxo Oncology at Lilly and their world-class research capabilities opens up exciting possibilities for Merus’ Biclonics platform.

“Our CD3 T-cell engager platform includes over 175 novel and diverse anti-CD3 common light chain antibodies across a wide range of affinities and attributes and enables functional screening of large libraries for optimal performance.”

Last month, Eli Lilly signed a definitive agreement to acquire biotechnology company Prevail Therapeutics for a total consideration of up to $26.50 per share in cash or approximately $1.04bn.