Almirall S.A. (BME: ALM) has entered a collaboration and licensing agreement with Shenzhen CrystalO Biopharma Technology Co., Ltd. to discover and develop novel small molecules for medical dermatology, adding an ion-channel program to an increasingly diversified research pipeline. CrystalO will take responsibility for candidate discovery, optimisation, IND-enabling work and early clinical development through clinical proof of concept, after which Almirall would lead subsequent global development, manufacturing and commercialisation outside mainland China.
The structure makes this substantially more than a conventional early discovery services agreement. CrystalO is carrying the program across several of the highest-risk stages of drug development before Almirall assumes control of the asset internationally, while retaining mainland China rights itself. Almirall will make an undisclosed upfront payment and could make additional research, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, alongside tiered royalties on future net sales outside mainland China. CrystalO would, unusually, pay tiered royalties back to Almirall on potential mainland China sales.
What remains undisclosed is just as important. Neither company has identified the specific ion channel being targeted, the intended dermatological disease, the lead compound or compounds, the planned route of administration, development timelines or the financial value of the upfront and milestone package. The partnership therefore adds an interesting new technological avenue to Almirall’s pipeline, but it remains a discovery-stage proposition whose eventual clinical significance cannot yet be assessed.
Why are ion channels an interesting but still unproven target class for Almirall in dermatology?
Ion channels provide a biologically interesting entry point into skin disease because they participate in processes extending beyond traditional immune signalling. Different channel families have been implicated in keratinocyte function, sensory signalling, inflammation, itch, pain and maintenance of the skin barrier, while transient receptor potential channels and other ion-channel systems have been studied across conditions including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and rosacea.
That breadth is precisely why the absence of a disclosed target matters. An ion-channel program cannot be judged simply because the target class has biological relevance to skin. The therapeutic rationale depends on which channel is being modulated, where it is expressed, how selectively the compound affects it, whether the biology is upstream or downstream of disease activity and whether sufficient modulation can be achieved without introducing effects in other tissues.
CrystalO brings a platform designed around those problems. The Shenzhen biotechnology company specialises in ion-channel medicines and says its capabilities include stable ion-channel antigens, structural determination, pharmacology and structure-based and artificial intelligence-assisted drug discovery. Its publicly described areas of activity extend beyond dermatology into neurological, psychiatric and kidney disorders, providing a broader ion-channel discovery base that Almirall can now attempt to apply to skin disease.
Artificial intelligence may help screen chemical space, interpret structural information and prioritise candidates, but it does not itself establish that the chosen target will translate into therapeutic benefit. The more important milestone will be whether CrystalO can produce a compound with sufficient potency, selectivity, pharmaceutical properties and preclinical safety to progress into human testing.
That is why the agreement placing responsibility with CrystalO through clinical proof of concept is notable. Almirall is not merely licensing an algorithmically generated lead and immediately absorbing the earliest development risk. Its partner must advance the program through candidate optimisation, IND-enabling studies and initial clinical development before the program reaches the handover point envisioned in the agreement.
What does the CrystalO deal reveal about Almirall’s increasingly externalised R&D strategy?
The collaboration fits an increasingly visible pattern at Almirall. Rather than relying only on internally originated drug candidates, the Barcelona-based dermatology company has been assembling technologies and programs through biotechnology collaborations that allow external specialists to perform important parts of discovery and early development while Almirall contributes dermatology expertise and later-stage development and commercial infrastructure.
China is becoming particularly important within that model. Almirall opened offices in Shanghai in 2026 specifically to identify locally developed programs and technologies that could complement its internal research capabilities. The CrystalO agreement follows a March collaboration with Shanghai Huaota Biopharmaceutical for a novel monoclonal antibody, under which Huaota is similarly responsible for early research and initial clinical development through proof of concept while Almirall controls development and commercialisation outside China.
The Huaota transaction potentially carries up to US$340 million in upfront and milestone payments, whereas the value of the CrystalO agreement has not been disclosed. Almirall also has an earlier relationship with Simcere involving an interleukin 2 mutant fusion protein program, reinforcing the impression that Chinese biotechnology is becoming a deliberate external source of pipeline assets rather than a one-off business-development market.
CrystalO adds a different modality to that strategy. Almirall’s clinical-stage pipeline is currently weighted heavily toward immunology and biologics, including antibodies targeting IL-1RAP and IL-21, an IL-2 mutant fusion protein and an anti-IL-13/OX40L bispecific antibody that entered Phase I development during the first half of 2026.
The company is also broadening the technology base elsewhere. In July, Almirall and Certest Biotec announced a research and licensing collaboration applying an mRNA and lipid nanoparticle platform to rare dermatological diseases and recurrent cutaneous conditions. The CrystalO agreement therefore extends a portfolio-building strategy that spans antibodies, fusion proteins, RNA technologies and small molecules rather than concentrating discovery around one therapeutic format.
Could small molecules give Almirall options that its growing biologics portfolio cannot?
Almirall is already demonstrating that small molecules remain part of its longer-term research strategy. In May 2026, Evotec announced the nomination of a small-molecule preclinical development candidate from an existing multi-target medical dermatology alliance with Almirall. That program is aimed at immune-mediated inflammatory skin diseases and is progressing toward IND-enabling development.
The CrystalO transaction is therefore not Almirall’s first move into small-molecule dermatology. Its differentiation lies in the combination of ion-channel biology, structure-based discovery, artificial intelligence and the China-based development model.
Small molecules can potentially provide development and commercial characteristics different from monoclonal antibodies and other large biologic therapies. Depending on molecular properties and disease biology, developers can investigate oral or topical formulations and potentially address intracellular or membrane-associated targets that are approached differently by biologics. None of those characteristics has yet been confirmed for the CrystalO program, however, and Almirall has not disclosed whether it intends to pursue an oral, topical or other formulation.
This distinction is important because formulation can become central to the commercial proposition in dermatology. A highly effective systemic medicine may occupy a different treatment position from a topical product intended for local disease, and the safety threshold can differ sharply depending on disease severity, treatment duration and patient population. Without the indication or route of administration, it is too early to determine where a successful CrystalO-derived compound might eventually sit within treatment pathways.
The most immediate value of the deal is therefore optionality. It gives Almirall access to another discovery engine and another target class without requiring the company to build the entire ion-channel platform internally.
How does the partnership fit Almirall’s commercial growth and current pipeline investment?
Almirall is pursuing these earlier-stage programs from a stronger commercial base than it had several years ago. First-half 2026 net sales increased 7.5% year-on-year to €602.7 million and EBITDA rose 23.7% to €150.7 million, with European dermatology sales advancing 18.1% to €341.9 million.
Ebglyss, or lebrikizumab, generated €84.5 million of first-half net sales, an increase of 88.2%, while Ilumetri, or tildrakizumab, generated €125.2 million, up 10.5%. The growth of those biologics is giving Almirall a commercial platform from which it can finance a much earlier and more experimental generation of dermatology assets.
Research and development represented approximately 11.5% of net sales during the first half of 2026, while the company says it has invested more than €1 billion in medical dermatology R&D over the past decade. Four proof-of-concept or Phase II studies are already underway across hidradenitis suppurativa, alopecia areata and atopic dermatitis, with two additional proof-of-concept studies planned before the end of 2026.
That context also prevents the CrystalO partnership from being mistaken for a near-term revenue catalyst. Even if candidate discovery proceeds successfully, the agreement explicitly places optimisation, IND-enabling development and initial human testing ahead of proof of concept. There is no disclosed clinical candidate and no announced regulatory filing, trial start or proof-of-concept date.
The program is better viewed as one element of Almirall’s effort to ensure that today’s commercially successful dermatology products are followed by a sufficiently broad next generation of assets.
Why will clinical proof of concept be the decisive test for the Almirall and CrystalO partnership?
The agreement transfers a meaningful amount of early execution responsibility to CrystalO, but it cannot remove the scientific attrition inherent in early drug development. Candidate discovery must first translate into a molecule with suitable pharmacology and developability. IND-enabling work must then support progression into human studies, and early clinical testing must establish whether the targeted ion-channel mechanism produces a useful signal in the selected dermatological population at an acceptable level of tolerability.
Only after that sequence does Almirall’s principal advantage become most relevant. The company already possesses clinical-development expertise, regulatory experience and an established dermatology commercial network, particularly in Europe. A successful proof-of-concept asset could therefore move into a much more mature organisation for global development rather than requiring CrystalO to construct those capabilities itself.
For CrystalO, the arrangement creates an international route for a platform historically focused on ion-channel discovery while allowing the biotechnology company to retain the mainland China opportunity. The reciprocal royalty structure also means the economics do not operate entirely in one direction if the program ultimately reaches both Chinese and international markets.
The central question is consequently not whether artificial intelligence or ion-channel biology sounds novel enough to expand Almirall’s pipeline. It is whether CrystalO can convert those capabilities into a selective, developable molecule and then demonstrate a clinically interpretable proof-of-concept signal in a skin disease that Almirall considers strategically important.
Until the companies disclose the target, indication and lead candidate, the collaboration should be regarded as a strategically coherent but highly early-stage addition to Almirall’s dermatology research portfolio. If the program crosses the proof-of-concept threshold, Almirall would gain another externally sourced clinical asset and further validation of its China-focused innovation model. Before that point, the scientific work being delegated to CrystalO remains the part of the deal that matters most.
