Eli Lilly makes a move!LTZ Therapeutics' globally pioneering "myeloid cell engager" platform opens a new direction in autoimmune disease treatment

On July 29, 2025, LTZ Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as "LTZ" or the "Company") announced a major strategic collaboration with global pharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) to jointly develop novel "myeloid engager therapeutics" targeting a specific pathway, aiming to treat autoimmune diseases with significant unmet medical needs.

LTZ has long been dedicated to major disease areas such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, striving to develop novel immunotherapies based on its "myeloid cell engager" technology platform.

According to the terms of the agreement, LTZ will receive tens of millions of dollars in upfront payments and an equity investment from Eli Lilly. In addition, LTZ is eligible to receive potential milestone payments at various stages of drug development, including preclinical, clinical, regulatory approval, and commercialization. Upon commercial launch of the relevant products, the company will further receive tiered royalties based on net sales.

Dr. Robert Li, founder and CEO of LTZ, said, "We are pleased to establish a strategic partnership with Lilly, a global leader in immunology. This is not only a key milestone in LTZ's development journey, but also a strong recognition of the scientific breakthroughs, clinical value, and commercial potential of our 'Myeloid Cell Engager' technology platform. Since our inception, LTZ has been committed to the mission of 'unlocking the biological potential of myeloid cells to address unmet clinical needs.' This collaboration will fully leverage Lilly's extensive R&D expertise, global commercial network, and resources to accelerate the advancement of our 'Myeloid Cell Engager' drug candidates from the lab into clinical development, aiming to deliver transformative treatment options to patients in urgent need of innovative therapies as soon as possible."

As the company's core technology engine, LTZ's self-developed "Myeloid Cell Engager" platform is rooted in "Reverse Translational Science" and a deep understanding of "myeloid cell biology."

The platform precisely targets specific myeloid cell subsets (such as macrophages) to dynamically regulate the immune system's balance—suppressing overactivated immune responses and restoring immune homeostasis in autoimmune diseases, while overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and effectively activating anti-tumor immune responses in cancer therapy.

This unique innovative mechanism is expected to overcome the challenge of drug resistance while significantly enhancing therapeutic efficacy, laying a solid foundation for the development of next-generation immunotherapies.

LTZ is a globally integrated biotechnology company focused on novel immunotherapies. Aiming to address significant unmet clinical needs in areas such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, the company independently developed the Myeloid Engager Platform and related innovative drugs, with the goal of improving overall clinical benefits for a broad patient population. The company's international team is based in Shenzhen, China; Redwood City, California, USA; and Heidelberg, Germany. Grounded in reverse translational science and emerging tumor microenvironment biology, LTZ is dedicated to developing next-generation immunotherapies that can both overcome drug resistance and enhance anti-tumor immunity.

In February 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved LTZ's first product, LTZ-301, for investigational new drug (IND) clinical trials. LTZ-301 is a "first-in-class" myeloid engager immunotherapy, developed from LTZ's proprietary "Myeloid Engager" technology platform.

In March 2025, Sanofi acquired a MCE bispecific antibody developed by Dren Bio for a total of $1.9 billion. Earlier, in July 2024, Novartis entered a strategic collaboration with the company totaling $3 billion to discover and develop therapeutic bispecific antibodies for cancer based on its proprietary Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis platforms.

In fact, the clinical efficacy of therapeutic antibodies relying on Fcγ receptor (FcγR)-mediated phagocytosis has been validated, as demonstrated by daratumumab, trastuzumab, and rituximab. However, beyond FcγR, emerging strategies are shifting toward myeloid cell engagers (MCE).

Compared to T cell engagers (TCEs), MCEs offer the following potential advantages: macrophages are far more abundant than T cells within solid tumors, enabling bypass of the "cold tumor" limitation; indirect activation of T cells via antigen presentation avoids cytokine storms caused by excessive CD3 stimulation; and targeting myeloid cells specifically reduces the risk of CRS.

LTZ's technology platform is built upon the above logic, capable of activating myeloid cells to perform phagocytosis while minimizing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Eli Lilly's collaboration with LTZ this time can be seen as another affirmation by multinational giants of the MCE platform.