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Eli Lilly acquires dual-payload ADC platform from CrossBridge Bio for up to USD 300m

Eli Lilly Acquires Dual-Payload ADC Platform for Up to USD 300 Million via CrossBridge Bio Deal

Edited by Robert McTiernan··2 min read

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire US-based CrossBridge Bio, Inc., a privately held preclinical biotechnology company founded in 2023 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The price tag is reportedly up to USD 300 million in cash. Lilly is moving to extend its oncology pipeline to dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology, adding a modality designed to address resistance mechanisms that limit the durability of current single-payload ADC therapies.

CrossBridge Bio shareholders will receive consideration structured as an upfront cash payment plus a subsequent payment contingent on achieving a specified development milestone, with the combined total capped at USD 300 million. The precise split between the upfront and milestone components was not disclosed. No regulatory milestone payments, royalty terms, or commercial milestones were referenced in the source material. Because the transaction is a full company acquisition, Lilly inherits global rights to all CrossBridge Bio intellectual property and pipeline assets, with no geographic carve-outs disclosed.

Dual-payload ADC platform and lead asset CBB-120

CrossBridge Bio's core technology, originally developed by Kyoji Tsuchikama at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, enables a single ADC construct to carry two mechanistically distinct cytotoxic payloads. The lead application of this platform is CBB-120, a TROP2-targeting ADC that co-delivers a topoisomerase I inhibitor (TOP1i) and an ATR inhibitor (ATRi) within the same conjugate.

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The mechanistic rationale for this combination centers on synthetic lethality and resistance circumvention. TOP1i payloads, as used in approved TROP2-directed ADCs such as sacituzumab govitecan, induce DNA single-strand breaks and replication stress. ATR kinase is a primary mediator of the replication stress response; its inhibition abrogates the DNA damage checkpoint that tumor cells activate to survive TOP1i-induced injury. By co-delivering both agents via a single TROP2-targeting antibody, CBB-120 is designed to simultaneously induce DNA damage and disable the cellular repair pathway that drives resistance to TOP1i monotherapy, with the intent of generating more durable anti-tumor responses and a wider therapeutic index than single-payload predecessors.

CBB-120 remains at the preclinical stage. CrossBridge Bio has indicated it anticipates filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US FDA in 2026.

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