In a blockbuster win for Houston’s life-sciences scene, Eli Lilly is snapping up local startup CrossBridge Bio in a deal worth up to $300 million, pulling the young company’s dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate work into the pharma giant’s orbit. It is a remarkably quick exit for a biotech founded in 2023 on UTHealth Houston research, and it puts a spotlight on local investors and the Texas Medical Center ecosystem as lead drug candidate CBB-120 heads toward human testing.
In a press release via Business Wire, CrossBridge said Lilly will acquire the company and that shareholders could receive up to $300 million in cash, split between an upfront payment and a potential milestone payment. The release also notes that an Investigational New Drug application for CrossBridge’s lead candidate, CBB-120, is anticipated in 2026, pending FDA review.
What CrossBridge Built
CrossBridge’s dual-payload ADC technology grew out of work at UTHealth Houston led by Kyoji Tsuchikama and Zhiqiang An. The platform pairs a topoisomerase I inhibitor with an ATR inhibitor to hit TROP2-positive tumors, research UTHealth is touting as a milestone in moving its lab discoveries toward clinical translation. The approach aims to improve the therapeutic index over existing TROP2-directed ADCs, according to UTHealth Houston.
Why Big Pharma Is Betting On Dual Payloads
Antibody-drug conjugates have become a central pillar of oncology R&D, and drug makers are in a heated race to squeeze more power and durability out of the class. BioPharma Dive reported that CrossBridge’s “dual-payload” approach, which delivers two toxic warheads to tumors instead of one, is exactly the kind of capability buyers like Lilly are targeting as they bulk up their precision oncology toolkits.
Local Investors And The TMC Ecosystem
CrossBridge closed a $10 million seed round in 2024 with participation from the TMC Venture Fund and CE‑Ventures, among others, a raise that helped propel the company from university lab project to industry dealmaking, Cooley LLP notes. Local outlets and TMC leaders have framed the acquisition as validation of Houston’s biotech pipeline and the TMC Innovation Accelerator program, according to InnovationMap.
Next Steps For The Drug And The Campus
Lilly plans to fold CrossBridge’s platform into its oncology research group and push CBB-120 through IND-enabling work toward first-in-human studies. “We look forward to seeing how Lilly advances our new generation of dual-payload antibody-drug conjugates,” CrossBridge co-founder and CEO Michael Torres said in a statement via Business Wire, adding that the team executed the company’s strategy “in such a short time” since its founding.
