Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Lilly's $80M upfront option on AC Immune's Tau Morphomer platform for Alzheimer's carried up to CHF 1.7B (~$1.8B) in back-end milestones, a cheap toehold CEO Andrea Pfeifer called 'transformational'—though the lead candidate ACI-3024 had only shown preclinical tau-aggregation inhibition.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →AC Immune to receive an initial upfront payment of CHF80 million and will be eligible for CHF60 million in potential near-term development milestones, up to…
Lilly committed up to $1.9B (CHF 1.89B) including $80.4M upfront, $50M convertible note, and ~$1.7B in milestones for AC Immune's Morphomer Tau small-molecule…
Subsequent $12.5M expansion payment as the Morphomer Tau small-molecule asset moved closer to clinic — analysts treated the follow-on payment as validating…
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Eli Lilly licensed AC Immune's Tau Morphomer small molecule discovery program for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. AC Immune received CHF 80M upfront ($80M) plus a CHF 50M equity investment, with up to CHF 1.7B (~$1.8B) in development, regulatory and commercial milestones plus tiered royalties on net sales.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder driven by amyloid-beta plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles, causing memory loss, executive dysfunction, and ultimately complete dependence. By 2019 no disease-modifying therapy existed; standard of care was symptomatic (cholinesterase inhibitors, memantine), and the field had absorbed serial Phase 3 failures of anti-amyloid antibodies.
By December 2018 the AD pipeline had pivoted aggressively from amyloid-only to multi-target strategies, with tau emerging as the most discussed alternative target after the BACE inhibitor (verubecestat, lanabecestat, atabecestat) collapse and the failure of solanezumab. The tau competitive set in 2018-2019 was crowded but mostly biologic: Biogen's gosuranemab (BIIB092), AbbVie's tilavonemab (ABBV-8E12), Roche's semorinemab (MTAU9937A), Eisai/Biogen's BAN2401 (lecanemab, amyloid), and Lundbeck/Otsuka tau ASOs. Small-molecule tau aggregation inhibitors were rare — TauRx's LMTX/HMTM had failed Phase 3 — making AC Immune's oral, brain-penetrant Morphomer Tau platform (lead ACI-3024) a differentiated bet. For Lilly, the deal stacked on top of its existing AD franchise (donanemab, solanezumab, zagotenemab tau antibody) and gave it a small-molecule shot on goal at <5% of typical large-cap AD M&A pricing. Strategic value: optionality across Alzheimer's plus other tauopathies (PSP, FTD), with Lilly funding Phase 2+ development. Subsequent milestones in 2020-2026 (CHF 12.5M expansion, additional milestone triggers) confirmed continued advancement, though the lead clinical candidate has progressed slowly. The 2018 deal preceded — and helped fund — the 2019-2020 industry pivot back to tau as anti-amyloid antibodies remained controversial.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly and Company / AC Immune SA (this deal) | 2019 | $1.9B | — |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH | 2011 | $444M | 89 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Loxo Oncology, Inc. | 2019 | $8.0B | 88 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Applied Molecular Evolution Inc. | 2003 | $400M | 88 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / ICOS Corporation | 2006 | $2.3B | 87 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Novartis Animal Health | 2014 | $5.4B | 70 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Incyte Corporation | 2009 | $755M | 69 |
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More: 2019 deals · Eli Lilly and Company deals · Neurology deals