Aktis to collaborate with Eli Lilly on cancer therapies

An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is pictured in Branchburg, New Jersey

(Reuters) -Aktis Oncology said on Tuesday it will collaborate with Eli Lilly to develop cancer therapies, making it eligible for milestone payments of up to $1.1 billion and royalties on sales.

The Boston-based drug developer will use its proprietary technology along with Lilly's expertise in oncology drugs to develop therapies for a range of solid tumors.

The company will receive an upfront payment of $60 million as part of the deal and Lilly will receive worldwide rights to commercialize some of the radiotherapies and diagnostic products discovered by Aktis.

Aktis' therapies work by using a radioactive substance that gives off a type of high-energy radiation called an alpha-particle to kill cancer cells.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)