AlzeCure Pharma surges 260% in Stockholm following a deal with Eli Lilly

AlzeCure Pharma shares have surged on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, rising by 259% (falling slightly from a high of over +280% during today’s session) following the announcement of a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly for a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The deal could be worth up to $1 billion in so-called “biobucks” (the total theoretical value of a licensing or collaboration agreement, which includes not only the initial payment but also all possible future payments linked to the achievement of certain targets).

Specifically, Lilly will acquire the rights to the therapy for an initial payment of $10 million. Under the terms of the agreement, milestones linked to clinical development and commercialisation could total over $1 billion for the Swedish biotech company. Added to this are tiered sales royalties in the region of a low to mid-single-digit percentage, with further potential to increase the total value of the deal.

The therapeutic candidate is designed to reduce the production of the harmful amyloid-beta protein Aβ42. The Aβ42 protein is, in fact, one of the main components of the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to reducing Aβ42 production, the experimental drug ACD860 is designed to increase the production of proteins considered non-pathogenic, such as Aβ37 and Aβ38, which could help to further reduce Aβ42 levels and the resulting formation of harmful amyloid deposits in the brain.

The potential benefits of the drug could also extend beyond the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. In an official statement, AlzeCure Pharma’s CEO, Martin Jönsson, highlighted that the drug candidate may also have preventive potential: ‘In the long term, these compounds could also be used as a preventive treatment to avoid the development of Alzheimer’s.’

In recent years, Eli Lilly has significantly stepped up its activities in the Alzheimer’s sector, in an attempt to identify its next major therapeutic success following its achievements in the obesity drug market. The company’s main asset in the neurology sector is Kisunla, whose commercial potential, according to GlobalData’s neurology analyst Philippa Salter, could reach $3.8 billion in sales by 2033. The global market for Alzheimer’s treatments, according to GlobalData estimates, is expected to grow to eight times its current size by 2034.