The star of the licensing agreement, a small-molecule gamma-secretase modulator, will help buff Eli Lilly’s position in Alzheimer’s disease, currently headlined by its anti-amyloid antibody Kisunla.
Lilly is keeping its spending spree going, this time investing in a back-loaded Alzheimer’s disease deal with Swedish biotech AlzeCure Pharma.
The alliance, announced Tuesday, will involve $10 million in cash from the pharma, as well as unspecified development and commercial milestone payments, resulting in a total deal that could top $1 billion. AlzeCure will also be eligible for tiered mid-single-digit royalties on sales, according to the press release.
The centerpiece of the licensing agreement is ACD680, a small-molecule modulator of the gamma-secretase enzyme that works by lowering the production of Aβ42, a pathologic form of amyloid-beta that acts as the building blocks of characteristic Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain. ACD680 also helps boost the production of shorter forms of amyloid-beta that don’t contribute to the toxic clumps.
Gamma-secretase modulators such as ACD680 have a “strong genetic link” to Alzheimer’s disease, AlzeCure CSO Johan Sandin said in a prepared statement Tuesday. In the long term, CEO Martin Jönsson added that the drug could also serve as a preventive treatment for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The AlzeCure alliance is designed to expand Lilly’s Alzheimer’s disease portfolio, currently anchored by its FDA-approved anti-amyloid antibody Kisunla. The drug was given the regulatory go-ahead in July 2024—about a year and a half behind its main competitor Leqembi, owned by Biogen and Eisai. Leqembi won full FDA approval in July 2023, becoming the first disease-modifying Alzheimer’s therapy to secure such a regulatory distinction.
The two antibodies have been jockeying for leadership of the Alzheimer’s market, and Lilly is a step behind: Leqembi earned $168 million globally in the first quarter while Kisunla revenues trailed slightly at $124 million. A key difference between the two therapies is that Lilly’s drug is designed to be stopped once amyloid plaques are no longer visible on PET scans, while Leqembi is given indefinitely.
Biogen and Eisai seem ready to turn this dosing discrepancy into a market advantage. Alisha Alaimo, Biogen’s head of North America, told investors during an earnings call in April that doctors have been considering switching patients to maintenance Leqembi once patients are taken off Kisunla.
“We do have physicians that are looking at: Can we switch them to maintenance or to substitute maintenance of Leqembi?” Alaimo said.
Beyond Alzheimer’s disease, Lilly’s AlzeCure agreement continues the pharma’s recent deal-making spree. Just last week, the pharma giant brought on three partners: Ascidian Therapeutics for $1.9 billion, Haisco Pharmaceutical Group for more than $3 billion and Hanmi Pharm for $1.2 billion. The week before, Lilly swallowed a trio of vaccine developers for a total deal value of up to $3.8 billion.
