Lilly announced on June 10 a new partnership with Swedish biotech AlzeCure Pharma to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The agreement includes an initial $10 million cash payment from Lilly, along with additional development and commercial milestone payments that could bring the total value of the deal to over $1 billion. AlzeCure will also be eligible for tiered mid-single-digit royalties on sales.
The main focus of the licensing agreement is ACD680, a small-molecule modulator of the gamma-secretase enzyme. This compound works by lowering production of Aβ42, a pathologic form of amyloid-beta associated with Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain, while increasing production of shorter forms that do not contribute to toxic clumps. "Gamma-secretase modulators such as ACD680 have a ‘strong genetic link’ to Alzheimer’s disease," said Johan Sandin, chief scientific officer at AlzeCure, in a prepared statement Tuesday. Martin Jönsson, CEO at AlzeCure, said that in the long term, the drug could serve as a preventive treatment for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
The alliance aims to expand Lilly's existing Alzheimer's portfolio, which currently features its FDA-approved anti-amyloid antibody Kisunla. Kisunla received regulatory approval in July 2024—about eighteen months after Biogen and Eisai's Leqembi became the first disease-modifying Alzheimer's therapy granted full FDA approval in July 2023.
Both Kisunla and Leqembi are competing for leadership in the Alzheimer's market. In the first quarter following their respective launches, Leqembi earned $168 million globally while Kisunla generated $124 million. One difference between these therapies is dosing: Kisunla is designed to be discontinued once amyloid plaques are no longer visible on PET scans; Leqembi is administered indefinitely. During an April earnings call, Biogen's head of North America, Alisha Alaimo, said some doctors are considering switching patients from Kisunla to maintenance therapy with Leqembi once they complete their course.
Beyond this latest agreement with AlzeCure and its focus on Alzheimer's disease treatments, Lilly has recently expanded its partnerships across several therapeutic areas—including deals last week with Ascidian Therapeutics ($1.9 billion), Haisco Pharmaceutical Group (over $3 billion), Hanmi Pharm ($1.2 billion), and three vaccine developers valued up to $3.8 billion.
