Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is boosting its pipeline through a deal with privately held Sitryx, a company focused on developing drugs that could treat cancer and inflammatory diseases by regulating the metabolism of immune cells. All of Sitryx's projects are still in the preclinical stage. The company was founded in 2018 by a group of well-known immunology researchers, and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) contributed some technology and other assistance as well. "Regulating the metabolism of immune cells is a promising approach to treating these diseases, and we look forward to working with the talented researchers at Sitryx to advance their novel immunometabolism targets," Ajay Nirula, vice president of immunology at Eli Lilly, said in a statement. Image source: Getty Images. Sitryx and Eli Lilly will undertake a five-year research collaboration with the goal of developing four drugs. The pharma giant has already picked Sitryx's two lead projects as the first two drugs to license. Sitryx will be responsible for drug discovery, while Eli Lilly will pay for and manage their clinical development and marketing. Eli Lilly is paying Sitryx $50 million up front and making a $10 million equity investment in the company. Sitryx is eligible for up to $820 million for reaching development milestones, and could also get commercialization milestones and royalties in the mid- to high-single-digit percentage range if the drugs from the collaboration are eventually approved by regulators. 10 stocks we like better than Eli LillyWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Eli Lilly wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2020 Brian Orelli and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source