Lilly deepens relationship with China’s Abbisko for $1.9B biobucks
With its 2026 M&A commitments already topping $25 billion, Eli Lilly continues to invest more money into its pipeline, this time expanding an ongoing partnership with Shanghai-based Abbisko Therapeutics.
The companies did not provide a specific financial breakdown of the agreement, noting only that it could be worth up to around $1.9 billion, according to a Wednesday morning release. This total covers the pharma’s upfront payment plus potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Abbisko will also be eligible for tiered royalties on annual net sales of alliance assets that reach the market.
It is unclear what specific indications or disease targets the partners will work on. The companies revealed only that they will advance therapies for “multiple targets” of Lilly’s choosing. Abbisko bring to the table its early-stage discovery engine to produce precision small-molecule and immuno-oncology therapies.
Lilly has previously tapped Abbisko’s discovery and development capabilities, particularly its small-molecule engine. In January 2022, the pharma placed up to $258 million on the line in potential payments to develop treatments for an undisclosed cardiometabolic target. The companies did not specify whether Lilly made an upfront commitment to Abbisko at the time.
Over the past decade, Eli Lilly has bought out more biotechs than any of the other top 12 pharmas by revenue—with 10 of those acquisitions arriving just this year.
The Indiana giant is pharma’s top-spender in 2026 so far, as per a BioSpace tally on June 12, which found that Lilly has bet up to $25.27 billion in acquisition deals this year. At the top of this list is the company’s $6.3 billion takeover of sleep specialist Centessa Pharmaceuticals in March, which was the biggest buyout of the year—until GSK took its spot earlier this month with a $10.6 billion offer for Nuvalent Bio. AbbVie usurped GSK this week with its $10.9 billion takeover of Apogee Therapeutics.
Lilly followed its Centessa play by picking up Kelonia Therapeutics in April, putting up to $7 billion on the line. Other notable Lilly acquisitions this year include the $2.4 billion takeover of Orna Therapeutics in February, the $2.3 billion purchase of Ajax Therapeutics in April and the up to $3.8 billion play in May to absorb three vaccine biotechs.
Outside of outright acquisitions, the pharma has also been actively expanding its list of partners. Lilly opened the year by fronting $55 million to work with Nimbus Therapeutics and advance a preclinical oral obesity drug. This deal could reach up to $1.3 billion if all milestones are met.
Even after BioSpace published its mid-year spending tally, Lilly picked up two new partners: Swedish biotech AlzeCure Pharma, which got $10 million upfront in an Alzheimer’s disease contract, and BioArctic, which received $30 million upfront for its brain delivery technology.