LLY Eli Lilly and Co

By Colin Kellaher

Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose more than 15% Thursday after the clinical-stage biotechnology company inked a licensing and collaboration agreement with drug giant Eli Lilly & Co.

The agreement provides up to $960 million in up-front and potential milestone payments to Rigel, along with royalties on sales.

Under the agreement, Eli Lilly gets an exclusive worldwide license to Rigel's receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1, or RIPK1, inhibitors, including the Phase 2-ready molecule R552, in all indications.

Shares of Rigel, which had roughly $57.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of 2020, were recently up about 18%, to $5.33, after reaching a 52-week high of $5.50 earlier in the session.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2021 10:36 ET (15:36 GMT)

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