On June 9, Swedish biotech company AlzeCure Pharma announced a global licensing agreement with Eli Lilly for its Alzheimer’s disease candidate Alzstatin ACD680.

Under the agreement, AlzeCure will receive an upfront payment of US$10 million, as well as development and commercial milestone payments and mid-single-digit royalties on sales. Excluding royalties, the total deal value could exceed US$1 billion.

ACD680 is a γ-secretase modulator designed to reduce the production of the harmful amyloid-beta protein Aβ42 while increasing the production of the shorter and relatively benign proteins Aβ37 and Aβ38. This mechanism may help reduce the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain. According to AlzeCure, the candidate has the potential to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and may also be explored as a preventive treatment. The agreement marks an important milestone for AlzeCure’s Alzstatin platform and reflects growing industry interest in next-generation Alzheimer’s therapies.