Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK, September 3, 2026
Nxera Pharma announced that Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, has achieved a late-stage development milestone associated with its selective orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist portfolio, triggering an $8.6 million milestone payment to Nxera under their research collaboration. The milestone payment is expected to be recognized as revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, providing a direct financial benefit to Nxera as development of the OX2R programs advances.
OX2R Agonist Portfolio Advances into Late-Stage Development
The milestone reflects continued clinical and late-stage development progress across Centessa’s OX2R agonist portfolio. The programs comprise clinical-stage molecules designed to target diseases associated with sleep-wake regulation and neurological disorders, representing a key area of development within the collaboration. Nxera retains rights to receive future development and commercialization milestone payments, as well as royalties, connected to the OX2R programs, creating the potential for additional financial benefits as the portfolio progresses through development and toward commercialization.
Lilly Acquisition of Centessa Strengthens OX2R Development Pathway
The development milestone follows Eli Lilly’s acquisition of Centessa, completed on June 24, 2026, through which Lilly gained ownership of Centessa’s OX2R agonist pipeline. The acquisition places the clinical-stage OX2R programs within Lilly’s broader pharmaceutical organization while Nxera continues to retain economic rights linked to the collaboration. The portfolio is being developed for a range of potential applications involving sleep-wake regulation and related neurological disorders, areas where new therapeutic approaches could address significant unmet medical needs.
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Nxera Pharma Positioned for Further Collaboration Milestones
Nxera Pharma said the company is encouraged by progress across the OX2R agonist pipeline and expects additional updates as key development milestones are achieved. President and CEO Christopher Cargill highlighted the potential of the portfolio to address major unmet needs across a broad range of disorders. The latest $8.6 million milestone payment adds to Nxera’s collaboration-driven revenue opportunity while the company continues advancing its broader specialty medicine pipeline through internal programs and partnerships. Nxera’s NxWave GPCR structure-based drug discovery platform remains central to its strategy of developing innovative medicines for patients in Japan and global markets.
Source:Nxera Pharma press relese
