Adimab, a global leader in the discovery and optimization of fully human monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, has entered into an agreement with Eli Lilly to transfer the Adimab Platform to Lilly for the discovery and optimization of antibody-based drugs in all therapeutic areas. This technology transfer expands an ongoing collaboration between the two companies that was initiated in 2010, which has yielded several undisclosed therapeutic candidates for Lilly.

"Given our commitment to discover and develop breakthrough medicines, we are excited to be entering this new agreement with Adimab,” said Thomas Bumol, senior vice president for Biotechnology and Immunology Research at Lilly. "We believe that adding the Adimab Platform to our existing portfolio of capabilities is an important step for Lilly as we work to quickly and efficiently develop solutions that will make a positive impact on people’s lives.”

"Lilly has a strong foundation in protein-based therapeutics and excellent R&D capabilities. We are delighted to see our platform in the hands of such a competent team,” said Tillman Gerngross, chief executive officer and co-founder of Adimab. “Adimab is a technology company that does not pursue its own internal pipeline. As such, we are very invested in the success of our collaborators. We typically enter into smaller collaborations intended to demonstrate the capabilities of the platform and then broaden the relationship by either doing more funded discovery or transferring the platform for internal use.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Adimab will transfer and license its proprietary antibody discovery and optimization platform to Lilly research sites in San Diego and New York. Lilly will receive a unique, custom human antibody library that is exclusive to Lilly, and will obtain a license to the Adimab Platform for use in all therapeutic areas without any target restriction. Lilly has also secured options to receive continued improvements to the Adimab Platform, including access to new antibody libraries. Adimab will receive an undisclosed upfront fee, future payments upon achievement of specified preclinical and clinical milestones, and royalties on any therapeutic products resulting from use of the technology.

Over the past eight years, Adimab has established partnerships with 50 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In addition to Lilly, the Adimab technology has been transferred and implemented at Merck, Novo Nordisk, Biogen and GSK. Funded discovery partners include leading pharmaceutical companies, such as Novo Nordisk, Biogen, GSK, Roche, Novartis, Lilly, Genentech, Celgene, Gilead, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Sanofi and others. Adimab has also partnered with many mid-size and early-stage venture-backed companies, including Merrimack, Five Prime, Jounce, Innovent, Alector, Acceleron, Surface Oncology, Potenza, Arsanis and others.

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