Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company will purchase four-year-old Disarm Therapeutics, a Cambridge-based biotechnology company, for $135 million up front.  Investors reportedly could receive an additional $1.225 billion depending on the success of Lilly’s development and commercialization efforts relating to the new drugs resulting from the deal.

Disarm has reportedly developed certain drug therapies for  axonal degeneration, a common feature of many neurological disorders. The development included the discovery of a protein that causes axonal degeneration and molecules known as SARM1 inhibitors which the developers believe can address axonal degeneration. Diseases targeted for the therapies include multiple sclerosis and ALS.

Disarm was reportedly founded by Atlas Venture, Atlas Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Dr. Rajesh Devraj and Dr. Raul Krauss, Drs. DiAntonio and Milbrandt of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. AbbVie Ventures and Lightstone Ventures co-invested with Atlas to support the foundational work at Disarm.

Related articles: STAT News   The Financial  Fierce Biotech

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Photo of Dan Shores Dan Shores

Dan Shores is a partner at  Rothwell, Figg and founder of its Boston office. He serves companies operating in dynamic biotech and other markets building patent portfolios, litigating complex patent disputes, negotiating strategic collaborations, and conducting due diligence and landscape investigations. Dan has…

Dan Shores is a partner at  Rothwell, Figg and founder of its Boston office. He serves companies operating in dynamic biotech and other markets building patent portfolios, litigating complex patent disputes, negotiating strategic collaborations, and conducting due diligence and landscape investigations. Dan has served companies utilizing the following technologies (without limitation): mRNA; lipid nanoparticles; CAR-T; oligonucleotides; genetically engineered swine organs for xenotransplantation; artificial intelligence for drug discovery; small molecules; biologics, materials science, and numerous other technologies throughout his 20-year career. Dan has a B.S. in engineering with a specialization in materials science from the University of New Hampshire and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a registered patent attorney licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and in the District of Columbia. He is a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.