Eli Lilly has penned a research pact worth $1.2 billion in biobucks with SanegeneBio to help pinpoint cardiometabolic RNAi medicines at the correct tissues.
The agreement centers around Sanegene’s Ligand and Enhancer Assisted Delivery (LEAD) platform, which the Boston-based biotech touts as a potential way to “generate breakthrough therapies for metabolic diseases that could be administered subcutaneously as infrequently as twice per year.”
Sanegene is already working on a clutch of its own metabolic-focused RNA meds, headed up by a clinical-stage angiotensinogen-targeting siRNA for which China’s Innovent has scooped up the Asia rights.
Saturday’s deal with Lilly involves Sanegene identifying optimized LEAD-based RNAi molecules for an undisclosed number of metabolic targets, with Lilly taking over each program for IND-enabling studies and beyond.
In return, the Big Pharma is initially handing over an upfront payment and making an equity investment in Sanegene. While both amounts were also undisclosed in the biotech’s Nov. 8 release, Sanegene did divulge that the combined total of discovery, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments it could potentially receive from the deal could reach $1.2 billion.
"Partnering with Lilly represents a strong validation of our innovative and differentiated LEAD platform for tissue-selective delivery of RNAi medicines,” Sanegene CEO Weimin Wang, Ph.D., said in the release.
“We look forward to working closely with Lilly, a global leader in innovation for metabolic diseases, to unlock novel approaches for the treatment of metabolic disorders and to advance durable, disease-modifying therapies for patients worldwide,” Wang added.
Lilly, which markets obesity blockbuster Zepbound, has a bulging metabolic portfolio including next-gen weight loss drugs like orforglipron and retatrutide.
Meanwhile, the pharma has stepped up its RNA therapeutics strategy in recent months, including a $13 million upfront deal with Creyon Bio to develop artificial-intelligence-designed oligonucleotide therapies spanning a “a broad range of diseases.” The pharma also tapped Rznomics for a $1.3 billion biobucks deal centered around using the South Korean biotech’s trans-splicing ribozyme platform to develop a hearing loss therapy.
In August 2024, Lilly opened a $700 million R&D center in the Boston Seaport, boosting its RNA and DNA research capabilities. Further back, Lilly has clinched RNA-focused deals with the likes of MiNA Therapeutics and ProQR Therapeutics.