CSL is advancing clazakizumab for the treatment of cardiovascular events in end-stage kidney disease and will retain rights over the asset in this indication. Lilly will explore other conditions.
Eli Lilly has snagged a new immune-inflammatory and cardiovascular program thanks to a $100 million upfront licensing deal with Australia’s CSL.
The pharma has fronted the cash for access to the anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody clazakizumab, according to a Tuesday press release. CSL will also be eligible for clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus royalties if the antibody hits the market. The companies did not specify how much Lilly has committed for these future contingent payments.
By targeting the IL-6 cytokine, clazakizumab addresses several key biological pathways, including the regulation of the immune system, the inflammation of blood vessels and the production of new blood cells. Excessive production of IL-6 has been linked to several chronic inflammatory conditions, CSL said. A subsidiary of the company, CSL Behring, had previously terminated a Phase 3 study of clazakizumab for transplant rejection because of lack of efficacy.
CSL’s R&D Head Bill Mezzanotte said in a statement that clazakizumab has “the potential to significantly impact the treatment landscape for various immune-inflammatory and cardiovascular conditions.”
The Australian biotech is currently running a Phase 3 study to test clazakizumab for the prevention of cardiovascular events in end-stage kidney disease. Under Tuesday’s agreement, CSL will retain exclusive developmental and commercialization rights over the antibody in this indication.
Lilly, meanwhile, will explore clazakizumab’s therapeutic potential in other conditions, though the companies did not specify what these indications are.
2026 has already been a busy year for Lilly on the dealmaking front. Last week, the pharma dropped $2.4 billion to acquire Orna Therapeutics, gaining entry into the CAR T space. Lead asset Orna-252 is poised to enter the clinic and is being proposed for B cell-driven autoimmune diseases.
Lilly also absorbed Ventyx Biosciences last month for $1.2 billion, gaining two NLRP3 assets, both in Phase 2 development, targeting the inflammatory cascade.
Other deals that Lilly has signed this year so far include its $1.12-billion bet with Seamless Therapeutics, centered on the biotech’s drug design engine to develop gene editors for hearing loss. The pharma has also joined hands with Ventyx Biosciences, pledging up to $1.84 billion in payments, to advance tolerizing therapies for autoimmune diseases.
