Shares of AC Immune SA ACIU have surged 16.3% over the past week, primarily driven by the announcement of an amendment to the Morphomer Tau license and collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company LLY.
Background of the Morphomer Tau Agreement With LLY
A multi-year collaboration agreement between Lilly and AC Immune was announced in 2018 to research and develop Tau aggregation inhibitor small-molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The collaboration brought together ACIU’s proprietary Morphomer platform with Lilly’s expertise in the clinical development and commercialization of therapies for central nervous system disorders.
Per the agreement, ACIU is conducting early-stage development of its Morphomer Tau aggregation inhibitors, while Lilly will enjoy global commercialization rights for these therapies in AD.
Morphomer Tau candidates are designed to be orally administered and efficiently penetrate the brain, while selectively targeting the disease-related form of Tau protein.
Over the past year, shares of ACIU have surged 116.9% compared with the industry’s 30.6% growth.
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Amendment Strengthens Long-Term Outlook for Morphomer Platform
The revised agreement further extends ongoing research efforts to include the development of next-generation Tau Morphomer candidates, along with potential backup compounds, broadening the pipeline. Investigational new drug-enabling studies are anticipated to begin in the first half of 2026.
Under the amended agreement, ACIU is entitled to receive an upfront payment of CHF 10 million, along with an additional milestone payment tied to the initiation of phase I dosing, in addition to previously agreed milestone payments. The company is also eligible for more than CHF 1.7 billion in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties in the low double-digit range on future sales, as previously disclosed.
The company received its first milestone payment of CHF 30 million in September 2019 from LLY.
AC Immune Price and EPS Surprise
AC Immune price-eps-surprise | AC Immune Quote
ACIU’s Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
AC Immune SA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are Catalyst Pharmaceuticals CPRX and Indivior Pharmaceuticals INDV, each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Over the past 60 days, estimates for Catalyst Pharmaceuticals’ 2026 earnings per share have risen from $2.55 to $2.87. CPRX shares have gained 8.4% year to date.
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals’ earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 35.19%.
Over the past 60 days, estimates for Indivior Pharmaceuticals’ 2026 earnings per share have risen from $2.89 to $3.08. INDV shares have lost 11% year to date.
Indivior Pharmaceuticals’ earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 74.53%.
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Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).