Eli Lilly has entered into an agreement with biomedical company Organovo to acquire its FXR314 farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist programme, aimed at treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly will pay Organovo an upfront payment of $10 million to obtain full global rights to FXR314 followed by potential milestone payments of up to $50 million as per a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The programme also includes a Phase II asset which has been trialled for ulcerative colitis (UC) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).