Eli Lilly Secures Rights to Alchemab’s Early-Stage ALS Drug in $415M Deal

Just four months after announcing a research collaboration, Eli Lilly is licensing its first drug candidate from British biotech Alchemab. The agreement, valued at up to $415M, includes a combination of upfront payments, development milestones, and royalties. The deal centers on ATLX-1282, a first-in-class preclinical therapy being developed for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Under the agreement, Cambridge-based Alchemab will oversee the early phase 1 clinical trials for ATLX-1282, after which Eli Lilly will assume responsibility for the drug’s further development and eventual commercialization. Alchemab utilizes cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning in its drug discovery efforts, supported by Nvidia’s high-powered supercomputing capabilities in Cambridge.

ATLX-1282 is the first candidate to be licensed under the companies’ January 2025 partnership, which was formed to develop up to five novel antibody-based treatments for ALS. The licensing of this preclinical therapy marks a significant step forward for the collaboration, indicating early promise in the pursuit of treatments for a condition with few therapeutic options.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a severe and fatal condition that leads to the gradual degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. While historically neglected in terms of drug development, recent years have seen growing momentum in ALS research. One notable success is Biogen and Ionis’ Qalsody, which received FDA approval in 2023 for patients with mutations in the SOD1 gene.
Yet, ALS drug development remains a difficult landscape. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals’ Relyvrio was pulled from the market after disappointing results in a follow-up trial. More recently, experimental treatments from AbbVie-Calico and Denali failed to show benefits in advanced clinical studies. Corcept Therapeutics also saw its mid stage trial for a cortisol modulator fall short.
Even with these setbacks, the Lilly-Alchemab collaboration signals a strong, ongoing commitment to finding effective ALS therapies. With ATLX-1282 now moving toward clinical development, it represents a potential breakthrough in addressing a disease with an urgent need for innovative treatment options.