Kumquat emerges with Lilly cancer deal, $70M up front 

San Diego-based Kumquat’s platform for developing small molecules to treat cancer has attracted a deal with Lilly worth $70 million up front to the biotech, adding to the nine-figure sum it has quietly raised from venture investors over roughly two years.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) gained options to an undisclosed number of molecules that stimulate tumor-specific immune responses, which the partners will discover and develop using the platform from Kumquat Biosciences Inc. The biotech is eligible for more than $2 billion in milestones, plus royalties...