Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Lilly's post-tanezumab pain bet on CNTX-0290, a Phase 1 SSTR4 agonist, came cheap at $47.5M upfront against up to $575M in milestones - but Lilly cut the renamed program, mazisotine, in an August 2025 pipeline clearout.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Reference for batch-sheet asset CNTX-4975 (Centrexion's lead, FDA Fast Track, Phase 3 VICTORY-3 in knee OA pain)—not part of the 2019 Lilly license per primary…
Total deal potential ~$997M including sales milestones; Centrexion CEO Jeffrey Kindler positioned the deal as validation of Centrexion's ability to 'identify…
Reinforced that Lilly's 2019 Centrexion license was for CNTX-0290 (not CNTX-4975); deal extends Lilly's pain portfolio after tanezumab regulatory setbacks and…
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
All 6 sources with sentiment breakdown →
Lilly licensed exclusive worldwide rights to CNTX-0290, a Phase 1 small molecule SSTR4 agonist for chronic pain, from Centrexion Therapeutics. Upfront $47.5M, up to $575M in development/regulatory milestones, up to $375M in sales milestones, plus tiered high-single to low-double digit royalties. Optional U.S. co-promotion election.
Chronic pain—including moderate-to-severe knee osteoarthritis pain—affects an estimated 50+ million US adults and is the leading driver of disability and opioid prescribing. Knee OA alone is symptomatic in ~17% of adults aged 45+ and is managed with NSAIDs, intra-articular corticosteroids/hyaluronic acid, and ultimately joint replacement. The unmet need is a durable, non-opioid, non-addictive analgesic that bridges between conservative care and surgery—driving pharma BD interest in novel non-opioid mechanisms post-2016 opioid-crisis backlash.
Non-opioid chronic pain pharmacotherapy has been a graveyard of late-stage failures (e.g., anti-NGF tanezumab restricted by FDA, Pfizer/Lilly partnership ultimately abandoned 2021). Active mechanisms in development include sodium channel inhibitors (Vertex's Journavx/suzetrigine, NaV1.8, FDA-approved Jan 2025 for acute pain), TRPV1 agonists (Centrexion's CNTX-4975 trans-capsaicin Phase 3 for knee OA pain), CGRP and somatostatin receptor pathways, and various NGF/P2X3 modulators. Centrexion's CNTX-0290 is a small-molecule SSTR4 (somatostatin receptor type 4) agonist in Phase 1—a non-opioid, non-addictive mechanism distinct from the company's lead asset CNTX-4975. Lilly's $47.5M upfront / $575M milestone license in May 2019 covered CNTX-0290 (per Lilly investor relations and BioSpace coverage), giving Lilly exclusive global rights with optional US co-promotion; this was part of Lilly's broader pain portfolio rebuild after tanezumab setbacks. The deal sits within a wider pharma push for non-opioid mechanisms supported by federal HEAL Initiative funding and post-opioid-crisis payer/regulator receptivity. Note: batch sheet identifies the asset as CNTX-4975 (TRPV1/trans-capsaicin) for knee OA pain, but multiple primary and analyst sources confirm the licensed asset was CNTX-0290 (SSTR4 agonist) for chronic pain. Source: https://www.biospace.com/eli-lilly-in-licenses-non-opioid-compound-from-centrexion
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly and Company / Centrexion Therapeutics Corporation (this deal) | 2019 | $575M | — |
| 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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