OmniAb has entered a global collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to discover and develop antibodies targeting an undisclosed ion channel.
Under the agreement, OmniAb will use its proprietary antibody discovery technologies to generate antibody candidates against the ion-channel target. Lilly will receive exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize any products resulting from the collaboration.
OmniAb will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales of products developed under the agreement. The companies did not disclose the financial terms.
The collaboration expands OmniAb’s existing work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that use its technologies to discover therapeutic antibodies. OmniAb’s platforms are designed to generate fully human antibodies and facilitate discovery programs against complex targets.
Ion channels are proteins that regulate the movement of ions across cell membranes and play important roles in cell signaling. They have been investigated as potential treatment targets across a range of disease areas, including neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and inflammatory disorders.
OmniAb said the agreement reflects the potential of its technology suite to support discovery of antibody-based therapeutics for challenging biological targets. The company’s platforms include transgenic animal technologies, screening tools and antibody optimization capabilities.
Lilly will lead future development and commercialization activity for any candidate that emerges from the collaboration. OmniAb will retain its platform technologies and continue pursuing additional partnerships and internal discovery programs.
The companies did not disclose the specific ion channel involved, the therapeutic area being pursued or a timetable for selection of a development candidate. They also did not provide details on the size of the upfront payment, potential milestone totals or royalty rates.
The deal gives Lilly access to OmniAb’s antibody discovery capabilities as it expands its research efforts across potential new therapeutic targets. For OmniAb, the agreement adds another partnered program that could generate future milestone and royalty revenue if a product advances through development and reaches the market.
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