Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK, 3 September 2026 – Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. (“Nxera” or “the Company”; TSE 4565) today announces that Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Centessa”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly”), has achieved a late-stage development milestone associated with its selective orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist portfolio. This milestone triggers a payment of US$8.6 million to Nxera pursuant to its research collaboration with Centessa. The milestone payment will be recognized as revenue in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending 31 December 2026.
On 24 June 2026, Lilly announced that it had completed the acquisition of Centessa. Through this acquisition, Lilly gained ownership of Centessa’s OX2R agonist pipeline, currently comprising clinical-stage molecules designed to treat a broad range of diseases associated with sleep-wake regulation and related neurological disorders. Nxera retains rights to receive future development and commercialization milestones, as well as royalties, related to the programs.
Christopher Cargill, President and CEO of Nxera Pharma, commented: “We are very pleased to see progress in the clinic and more broadly across the OX2R agonist pipeline. This is a very exciting portfolio with great potential to address major unmet needs across a broad range of disorders, and we look forward to announcing further updates that impact Nxera as key milestones are reached.”
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About Nxera Pharma
Nxera Pharma is a technology powered biopharma company in pursuit of new specialty medicines to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs in Japan and globally. The Company has built an agile, new-generation commercial business in Japan to develop and commercialize innovative medicines, including several launched products, to address this high-value, large and growing market and those in the broader APAC region. In addition, the Company is advancing an extensive pipeline internally and in partnership with leading pharma and biotech companies, powered by its unique NxWave™ GPCR structure-based drug discovery platform. Nxera Pharma operates at key locations in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), London and Cambridge (UK), Basel (Switzerland) and Seoul (South Korea) and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565).
For more information, please visit www.nxera.life
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Enquiries:
Nxera – Media and Investor Relations
Shinya Tsuzuki, VP, Head of Investor Relations
+81 (0)3 5210 3399 | +44 (0)1223 949390 |IR@Nxera.life
MEDiSTRAVA (for International Media)
Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Erica Hollingsworth
+44 (0)203 928 6900 | Nxera@medistrava.com
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Nxera Pharma Group’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
