Eli Lilly (LLY) Expands Pipeline With Positive Trial Data and New Licensing Deal

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of Goldman Sachs’s top growth stock picks. On February 18, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) said using Taltz (ixekizumab) together with Zepbound (tirzepatide) worked better than Taltz alone in adults who had moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and also had obesity or were overweight.

Eli Lilly said the results came from its Phase 3b TOGETHER-PsO study, which tested Taltz alone vs. Taltz plus Zepbound. The trial enrolled 274 adults, split evenly between the two treatment groups, and all participants also received diet advice and guidance to increase physical activity. The company said the people in the study had a high disease burden. It added that side effects in the combination group were generally mild to moderate and matched what is already known about each medicine.

On the same day, February 18, Reuters reported that Eli Lilly signed an exclusive licensing agreement with CSL Limited for clazakizumab, an anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody. CSL is an Australian multinational biotechnology company.

According to Reuters, Lilly will take on development and commercialization in indications covered by the license. For CSL, the company will keep clazakizumab rights for preventing cardiovascular events in people with end-stage kidney disease.

Lilly will pay CSL $100 million upfront, Reuters said, and there will be additional potential clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments. The deal also includes royalties tied to global net sales.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a pharmaceutical manufacturer. It develops treatments across therapeutic areas including diabetes, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.