Eli Lilly and Co. has recently embarked on two strategic partnerships with biotechnology firms Repertoire Immune Medicines and Seamless Therapeutics, focusing on the development of pioneering therapies for autoimmune conditions and hearing loss. These collaborations entail considerable upfront and milestone payments, underscoring Eli Lilly's commitment to advancing innovative treatments in these therapeutic areas.
On Thursday, Eli Lilly and Repertoire Immune Medicines formalized a collaboration concentrating on the creation of tolerizing therapies designed to address multiple autoimmune diseases. Repertoire Immune, a biotech company specializing in programmable T cell-targeted immune medicines, will receive an initial payment of $85 million as part of this agreement, alongside the potential to earn an additional $1.84 billion contingent upon achieving specific development and commercial milestones. Furthermore, Repertoire will be entitled to tiered royalties on net sales of therapies arising from the collaboration.
The joint initiative seeks to restore immune homeostasis in patients enduring autoimmune disorders, aiming to confer durable remission without the broad immune suppression associated with existing therapeutic options. Initially, Repertoire will spearhead collaboration activities through the nomination of development candidates. Subsequently, Eli Lilly will assume responsibility for clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, and commercialization of tolerizing therapies emerging from this alliance.
Repertoire’s work will be underpinned by its proprietary T cell receptor-epitope discovery platform, DECODE, which facilitates the identification and development of candidate tolerizing therapies tailored for autoimmune disease intervention.
In a related development on Wednesday, Eli Lilly entered into a global research collaboration and licensing agreement with Seamless Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company specializing in gene therapy. This partnership is focused on leveraging Seamless' proprietary recombinase platform to develop programmable recombinase-based treatments targeting hearing loss indications.
Seamless Therapeutics' technology enables precise DNA insertions at any target gene sequence independent of the cell's natural DNA repair pathways. Under the terms of their agreement, Seamless will design and program site-specific recombinases directed at correcting mutations in certain genes relevant to hearing loss.
Eli Lilly will secure an exclusive license to the programmed recombinases for advancing preclinical and clinical drug development and eventual commercialization. Seamless is set to receive an upfront payment as well as committed research and development funding. The total potential value of the collaboration could exceed $1.12 billion, including milestone payments related to development and commercial achievements, in addition to tiered royalties on successful marketed products.
These partnerships form part of Eli Lilly's broader strategy to bolster its biotechnology pipeline. Notably, in October 2025, Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Adverum Biotechnologies, which focuses on intravitreal, single-administration gene therapies intended to restore vision and prevent blindness. Earlier, in June 2025, Eli Lilly acquired Verve Therapeutics, whose lead program involves an in vivo gene editing medicine targeting PCSK9, a gene associated with cholesterol regulation and cardiovascular health.
As of Thursday's market close, Eli Lilly shares traded at approximately $1,028.01, reflecting a modest increase of 0.34%, signaling positive investor momentum around the company’s expanding footprint in advanced therapeutics development.