Lilly expands Gate Bioscience deal with more than $870 million in potential payments

Eli Lilly has expanded its discovery and licensing partnership with Gate Bioscience in a deal with potential payments exceeding $870 million, contingent on milestones—not an upfront $870 million payment.

The expansion adds one undisclosed drug target, with an option to add a second. Gate will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, research funding, and potentially milestone payments and tiered royalties on sales.

Gate will lead early discovery using its “Molecular Gate” platform. Lilly receives exclusive worldwide rights to resulting products and would handle later-stage development, clinical trials, manufacturing, and commercialization.

The approach aims to use oral small molecules to block selected proteins from passing through the Sec61 channel, prompting their degradation. The companies have not disclosed the targets or specific disease areas.

The expansion follows a July 2025 collaboration reportedly worth up to $856 million. No candidate drugs or clinical results were disclosed in the reports.