Global Briefs: Lilly, BI, Halozyme & More
A roundup of news from the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies featuring Eli Lilly and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and Halozyme. Highlights below.
For the latest news roundup on small and Emerging Pharma companies, see Biotech Briefs.
Partnering News
* Lilly, Repertoire Immune Medicines in $1.9-Bn Autoimmune Disease Drug Pact
* BI, Simcere in $1.26-Bn Bispecific Antibody Pact
* Lilly, Seamless Therapeutics in $1.1-Bn Gene-Therapy Pact
Manufacturing News
* AstraZeneca, Multiply Labs in Cell-Therapy Mfg Robotics Pact
M&A News
* Halozyme Acquires Surf Bio in $400-M Deal
Partnering News
Lilly, Repertoire Immune Medicines in $1.9-Bn Autoimmune Disease Drug Pact
Eli Lilly and Company and Repertoire Immune Medicines, a bio/pharmaceutical company focused on programmable T cell targeted immune medicines, have entered an agreement to develop tolerizing therapies for multiple autoimmune diseases, in a deal worth up to $1.9 billion ($85 million upfront and $1.84 billion in milestone payments).
The collaboration aims to develop treatments that restore immune homeostasis and provide patients with durable remission of their disease without the generalized immune suppression that is common with currently available therapies.
Repertoire will lead collaboration activities until development candidate nomination, and Lilly will lead clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, and commercialization of tolerizing therapies developed under the collaboration. Repertoire will utilize its T cell receptor (TCR)-epitope discovery platform, Decode, to discover and develop tolerizing therapy development candidates.
Under the agreement, Repertoire will receive an upfront payment of $85 million and up to an additional $1.84 billion for achieving certain development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on net sales.
Source: Repertoire Immune Medicines
BI, Simcere in $1.26-Bn Bispecific Antibody Pact
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, a Shanghai-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered an agreement to develop Simcere’s SIM0709, a preclinical bispecific antibody for treating inflammatory bowel disease, in a deal worth up to $1.26 billion.
Under the agreement, BI receives global rights to the asset, excluding greater China. Simcere is eligible to receive an upfront payment as well as success-based development, regulatory, and sales milestones up to EUR 1.058 million ($1.26 billion), as well as royalties on net sales outside of the greater China territory.
Source: Simcere Pharmaceuticals
Lilly, Seamless Therapeutics in $1.1-Bn Gene-Therapy Pact
Eli Lilly and Company and Seamless Therapeutics, a Lexington, Massachusetts-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered an agreement to develop and commercialize programmable recombinase-based treatments targeting hearing loss indications, using Seamless’ recombinase platform, in a deal worth up to $1.1 billion.
Under the agreement, Seamless will design and program site-specific recombinases directed to correct mutations in certain genes of interest related to hearing loss. Lilly will receive an exclusive license to the programmed recombinases to advance through preclinical and clinical drug development and commercialization.
Under the agreement, Seamless receives a guaranteed upfront payment and committed research and development funding. In total, Seamless is eligible for over $1.12 billion, including potential development and commercial milestone payments, excluding tiered royalties on successfully marketed drugs. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Source: Seamless Therapeutics
Manufacturing News
AstraZeneca, Multiply Labs in Cell-Therapy Mfg Robotics Pact
AstraZeneca and Multiply Labs, a company focused on autonomous manufacturing technology for advanced therapies, have entered an agreement to evaluate the potential for applying GMP-ready robotic systems to commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing. The collaboration will focus on end-to-end robotic automation of industry-standard instruments used in cell-therapy production using Multiply Labs’ robotic biomanufacturing system.
Source: Multiply Labs
M&A News
Halozyme Acquires Surf Bio in $400-M Deal
Halozyme Therapeutics, a San Diego, California-based company with specialized drug-delivery technology, has announced that as of December 2025, it had acquired Surf Bio, a preclinical biopharmaceutical company specializing in drug-delivery technology of antibodies and biologics, for $400 million ($300 million upfront and $100 million in milestone payments).
Surf Bio’s hyperconcentration technology is being developed to enable high concentrations of up to 500 mg/mL across a wide range of therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies and small molecules, for delivery in a single auto-injector shot for at-home or in-healthcare provider office use. These high concentration formulations are achievable using Surf Bio’s protective excipient and spray-dry approach to enable subcutaneous delivery of antibodies and biologics.
The company acquired Surf Bio for an upfront payment of $300 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and up to $100 million milestone payments contingent on product development and regulatory approval milestones, for a total consideration of up to $400 million.
Source: Halozyme Therapeutics
