Eli Lilly and Company and Regor Therapeutics Group have entered into a multi-year research collaboration and licensing agreement to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapies for metabolic disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will have a license to select Regor intellectual property with an option to extend the license. Lilly will be responsible for clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization worldwide, except for People's Republic of China, Macau, S.A.R., China, Hong Kong, S.A.R., China and Taiwan, China, where Regor will maintain these rights and responsibilities. The agreement will allow each company the opportunity to fully leverage both parties' existing compounds and technologies globally to maximize patient treatment choice.

"Through this collaboration, we will have the opportunity to expand treatment options available to patients suffering from metabolic disorders," said Ruth Gimeno, Ph.D., vice president, diabetes research and clinical investigation at Lilly. "Regor's technology will also allow Lilly to further accelerate innovation and deliver breakthrough therapies in obesity and diabetes."

"In a little over three years, Regor has established a world-class research organization exemplified by our Computer Accelerated Rational Discovery platform. This collaboration is a recognition for Regor's core technology and research capabilities, but more importantly, it is an extraordinary opportunity to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapeutics to help the millions of patients in the world, "said Xiayang Qiu, Ph.D., founder CEO of Regor. "We are pleased to establish this strategic collaboration with Lilly, a top global leader in metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity."

Regor will receive an upfront payment of up to $50 million, which partially includes an equity investment by Lilly in Regor, subject to the parties entering into standard equity agreements. The company is also eligible to receive up to $1.5 billion in potential payments based on the achievement of prespecified preclinical, clinical development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties from low-single to low-double digits on sales resulting from the agreement.

This transaction will be reflected in Lilly's reported results and financial guidance according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). There will be no change to Lilly's 2021 non-GAAP earnings per share guidance as a result of this transaction.