Eli Lilly expands Gate Bioscience pact in up to $870M deal

Eli Lilly and Company expanded its collaboration and license agreement with Gate Bioscience on October 5, 2026. The multi-year deal builds on a 2025 partnership to discover, develop, and commercialize molecular gate therapeutics.

The expanded agreement adds one target and gives Lilly the option to add a second target. The total potential value of the agreement could exceed $870 million, contingent on Gate achieving specific preclinical, clinical, and commercial milestones. Gate will also receive an upfront payment, a payment if Lilly selects the second target, research funding, and tiered royalties on global net sales.

Gate Bioscience will lead discovery efforts using its Molecular Gate discovery engine. Eli Lilly receives an exclusive global license and will manage later-stage preclinical development, clinical trials, manufacturing, and commercialization of any resulting treatments.

Molecular gates are oral small molecule drugs designed to eliminate disease-causing proteins by blocking them in the Sec61 secretory channel, causing their degradation. Gate notes the mechanism can address roughly 4,000 potential targets across immunology, neuroscience, and cardiometabolic diseases.