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Lilly, Immunocore to jointly discover and develop new cancer therapies

US-based Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a co-discovery and co-development collaboration with British biotechnology firm Immunocore to research and potentially develop new T cell-based cancer therapies.

By using Immunocore’s Immune Mobilising Monoclonal T-Cell Receptor Against Cancer (ImmTAC) technology, the companies will seek to use the power of the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells, Eli Lilly said.

According to Lilly, ImmTACs have shown potential to direct a patient’s T cells to specifically target the cancerous cells, avoiding damage to healthy cells.

As part of the deal, Immunocore will receive an upfront fee of $15m per program for the discovery of new ImmTACs against jointly-selected cancer targets to generate preclinical candidate packages.

Immunocore will be receiving an opt-in fee of $10m as well as have an option to continue co-development with Lilly on a cost-sharing and profit-sharing basis, if Lilly accepts a preclinical candidate package to develop and commercialize.

Immunocore chief business officer Eva-Lotta Allan said the company is happy to have entered into this strategic partnership with Lilly, and looks forward to working together in an integrated fashion.

"Lilly is a leading oncology player and we are delighted to advance novel T cell-based therapies into the clinic in collaboration with them," Allan said.

Lilly Research Laboratories president and executive vice president of Science and Technology Jan Lundberg said the major goal and challenge of cancer immunotherapy is to direct the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer.

"We believe Immunocore’s ImmTAC platform has the potential to do just that," Lundberg said.

"We are delighted to be working closely with Immunocore to develop potential novel therapies for cancer patients."