OmniAb and Eli Lilly enter a global ion channel discovery collaboration worth up to $370 million in milestones plus royalties on global net sales.
OmniAb, Inc. has entered a global collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company for a new ion channel discovery program. The partnership will use OmniAb’s technology platform and expertise in ion channel discovery and screening to support the identification of potential next-generation therapeutics.
The companies have not disclosed the therapeutic target, drug modality, or specific disease indication. As a result, the clinical potential and development timeline of any resulting candidate remain undefined.
The agreement expands Lilly’s access to specialized discovery capabilities while providing OmniAb with a potential pathway to advance its ion channel technology into a Lilly development program.
Ion Channels Remain Challenging Drug Targets
Ion channels are membrane proteins that regulate the movement of charged ions across cell membranes. By controlling electrical activity and intracellular signaling, they influence a wide range of physiological processes, including neuronal signaling, muscle contraction, cardiac rhythm, and immune-cell function.
Their broad biological roles make ion channels attractive targets across multiple therapeutic areas. However, developing selective drugs against individual ion channels can be difficult because closely related channels may share structural features and physiological functions. Discovery platforms that can identify and characterize selective binding molecules therefore have potential value during early-stage drug development.
OmniAb has built its discovery platform around antibody generation and screening technologies and has established capabilities for ion channel research. The current collaboration will apply those capabilities to a program whose biological target and therapeutic approach remain confidential.
Agreement Includes Up to $370 Million in Milestones
Under the agreement, OmniAb will receive an upfront payment from Lilly and may receive up to $370 million in research, development, and commercial milestone payments if the program reaches specified development and commercial objectives.
OmniAb will also be eligible for tiered royalties on global net sales of products resulting from the collaboration.
The milestone structure links a substantial portion of the potential economic value to future progress rather than providing the full amount upfront. Any future payments will depend on the program advancing through research, development, and commercialization milestones.
Collaboration Adds a New Partner to OmniAb’s Ion Channel Strategy
Matt Foehr, Chief Executive Officer of OmniAb, said the company’s ion channel expertise and established technologies are positioned to support the new discovery program with Lilly.
For Lilly, the collaboration provides access to an external discovery platform focused on a target class that can be difficult to address using conventional approaches. For OmniAb, the agreement creates an opportunity to apply its technology within Lilly’s broader therapeutic development capabilities.
Next Steps Remain Dependent on Discovery Progress
The immediate focus will be on discovery research and screening rather than clinical development. No candidate, indication, clinical trial, regulatory filing, or development timeline has been disclosed.
Further disclosures will be important to determine the therapeutic area, molecular modality, target biology, and whether the program advances into formal preclinical and clinical development. Until those details emerge, the agreement represents an early-stage research collaboration with significant potential milestone value but no established clinical efficacy or safety profile.
