Lilly to Pay China’s InnoCare $100 Million in Drug Discovery Deal Targeting Five Targets

Eli Lilly has signed a drug discovery deal with China’s InnoCare Pharma covering five targets and will pay $100 million, including an upfront payment.

According to U.S. biotech news outlet Fierce Biotech on the 24th (local time), Eli Lilly agreed to pay InnoCare Pharma $100 million in upfront and near-term payments. The deal could also include up to $3.25 billion in milestone payments tied to development and commercialization achievements.

The companies did not disclose the targets or therapeutic areas covered by the deal. They said only that the programs are aimed at important unmet medical needs.

InnoCare Pharma, headquartered in Beijing, will receive upfront and near-term fees, development and commercialization milestones, and tiered royalties in the single digits on annual net sales in exchange for providing its proprietary drug discovery platform and research expertise.

The deal extends Eli Lilly’s acquisition and partnership activity this year. With cash generated by glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 drugs, the company has completed a series of acquisitions worth more than $1 billion this year and secured research and development programs through licensing deals.

InnoCare Pharma CEO Jasmine Cui said at an earnings presentation last month, “We have ample cash and a globalization strategy, so we choose our partners very carefully,” adding, “We are not in a hurry to raise cash.”

InnoCare Pharma’s pipeline spans blood cancers, autoimmune diseases and solid tumors. Its TYK2 inhibitor, targeting an autoimmune disease, is drawing attention as a competitor to products from Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Takeda.

The company also has orelabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor approved in China for certain blood cancers. Biogen paid $125 million for the asset in 2021 but terminated the deal 19 months later, after which InnoCare Pharma signed a new deal with Zenas BioPharma.