Lilly signs up to $1.93 billion deal with Repertoire for autoimmune therapies

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Eli Lilly LLY.N is partnering with Repertoire Immune Medicines in a deal worth up to $1.93 billion to develop therapies for multiple autoimmune diseases, the Massachusetts-based biotech said on Thursday.

Repertoire will receive $85 million upfront and up to $1.84 billion more for certain development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on net sales.

The companies will aim to develop treatments that will restore the immune system and achieve durable remission of disease, without the generalized immune suppression common with current therapies.

Lilly will also gain access to Repertoire's Decode platform that looks at how a type of white blood cell called T cells recognize and bind to specific targets on diseased cells, helping identify potential therapy candidates.

Last month, Repertoire had said it is partnering with Pfizer PFE.N to help develop potential T-cell–based therapies for advanced prostate cancer using the Decode platform.

Under the terms of the agreement with Lilly, Repertoire will lead the collaboration until early discovery, and Lilly will lead clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization.

Lilly has been actively expanding its immunology footprint with deals and acquisitions, which include the $3.2 billion purchase of Morphic Holding in 2024 to beef up its inflammatory bowel disease portfolio.

Its current immunology portfolio includes drugs such as Olumiant, Taltz and Omvoh to treat conditions such as arthritis, hair loss caused by the immune system, inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis and chronic bowel diseases including ulcerative colitis.

The drugmaker is looking beyond its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro for growth.