AC Immune, a Switzerland-based company developing drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, has raised $50m in convertible note financing from pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly as part of a licence and collaboration agreement.
Founded in 2013, AC Immune develops drugs and diagnostic products intended to prevent and treat diseases caused by misfolding proteins.
The company has built two technology platforms to create antibodies, small molecules and vaccines designed to treat diseases caused by the degeneration of the nervous system.
As a result of the license and collaboration agreement, AC Immune has received an CHF80m ($80.4m) upfront payment from Eli Lilly and will be eligible for an additional CHF60m if it reaches certain development milestones.
The company, which floated on Nasdaq in a $66m initial public offering in 2016, will also receive up to approximately CHF1.7bn in additional potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones.
Eli Lilly will fund and help develop AC Immune’s tau aggregation inhibitors, which target the tau proteins associated with the diseases, and will also receive worldwide commercialisation rights for the tau aggregation inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease.
Mark Mintun, vice-president of neurodegeneration and pain research for Lilly, said: “Lilly is an industry leader in Alzheimer’s research, with numerous ongoing scientific programs that target suspected causes of the disease, including amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
“This agreement with AC Immune represents another opportunity to hopefully make progress against this devastating disease, and we look forward to together bringing tau aggregation inhibitors into clinical development.”