Repertoire Immune Medicines announced a strategic collaboration with Eli Lilly aiming to develop a new class of tolerizing therapies aimed at treating multiple autoimmune diseases.

The agreement pairs Repertoire’s discovery capabilities with Lilly’s clinical development and commercialization infrastructure, reflecting a shared focus on therapies designed to restore immune balance and deliver durable disease remission.¹

The collaboration is expected to leverage Repertoire’s Decode platform, which is designed to map interactions between T cells and disease-relevant antigens at scale.² By decoding these interactions across diverse patient populations, the platform aims to identify the specific immune signals that drive autoimmune pathology. This approach is intended to enable the development of therapies that induce immune tolerance in a targeted manner, rather than broadly dampening immune function.²

Autoimmune diseases remain an area of high unmet need, with many patients reliant on chronic therapies that manage symptoms but do not fundamentally alter disease progression. Current treatment options often require lifelong administration and can leave patients vulnerable to infections and other complications.³

For Lilly, the collaboration adds a discovery-driven autoimmune program that aligns with it’s broader immunology strategy, while also providing access to a platform designed to generate insights across multiple disease indications.

What are the details of the collaboration?

Per the terms of the collaboration agreement, Repertoire is expected to lead research activities through the nomination of development candidates, after which Lilly will assume responsibility for clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory strategy, and global commercialization.¹ The collaboration effort will center on identifying therapies that selectively retrain disease-driving immune responses, with the goal of avoiding the generalized immune suppression that characterizes many current autoimmune treatments and is often associated with long-term safety risks.¹

“This collaboration further expands Repertoire's partnered pipeline of tolerizing therapies and affords us the opportunity to translate the unique discoveries produced by our Decode platform into potentially paradigm shifting new medicines for autoimmune patients by addressing the root cause of the immune dysregulation and resetting their immune system to a healthier state,” said Torben Straight Nissen, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Repertoire. “Lilly's established leadership in immunology and commitment to advancing novel, potentially transformative medicines to patients with clear unmet needs give us great hope for the impact our innovation can have in the hands of such an exceptional partner.”

Financially, the agreement provides Repertoire with an upfront payment of $85 million, along with the potential to receive upwards of $1.84 billion in development and commercial milestone payments.¹ Repertoire is also eligible for tiered royalties on net sales of any resulting products. The size and structure of the deal highlight the pharmaceutical industry’s willingness to make substantial investments in early-stage platforms that promise more precise and durable approaches to immune-mediated disease.

Sources

1. Repertoire Immune Medicines Announces Strategic Collaboration with Lilly to Develop Tolerizing Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases. Repertoire Immune Medicines. January 29, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/repertoire-immune-medicines-announces-strategic-collaboration-with-lilly-to-develop-tolerizing-therapies-for-autoimmune-diseases-302673203.html
2. Repertoire Immune Medicines Decode Platform. Repertoire Immune Medicines. Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.repertoire.com/platforms/decode-platform
3. Clevland Clinic Autoimmune Diseases. Clevland Clinic. October 22, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21624-autoimmune-diseases