Lilly has teamed up with Precision for gene therapy for Duchy's muscular dystrophy

On November 20, Lilly and Precision BioSciences announced a research partnership and exclusive licensing agreement that will focus on Lilly's use of Precision's proprietary ARCUS®genome editing platform to research and develop in vivo therapies for potential genetic diseases, focusing on Thernopathic Dystrophy (DMD) and two other unrealed genetic targets.
terms of the agreement, Precision will receive an upfront cash payment of $100 million and a $35 million equity investment in Precision by Lilly.
In addition, if Lilly succeeds in commercializing a partner therapy, Precision will receive $420 million in potential development and commercialization revenue, as well as a tiered royalty on product sales from the median to the smaller double digits.
During the partnership, Precision will be responsible for leading preclinical research and support activities related to New Drug Research Applications (INDs), while Lilly will be responsible for the clinical development and commercialization process, and Lilly will have the right to select up to three additional gene targets in the collaboration.
Precision may choose to participate in the clinical development of one of these products in exchange for an increased royalty fee in the future sale of the co-financing product.
BioSciences is a clinical biotech company dedicated to innovation and its own ARCUS ® editing platform.
's product line is primarily based on the ARCUS® platform, consisting of several "immediately available" CAR-T immunotherapy clinical candidates and several in vivo gene-corrected therapy candidates for the treatment of genetic diseases and infectious diseases without appropriate treatment.
ARCUS® is a highly specific and versatile genome editing technology platform discovered and developed by Precision scientists, designed with treatment safety, delivery efficiency and effectiveness in account.
it uses a specific sequence of DNA cutting enzymes or nucleases that are designed to insert (knock in), remove (knock out), or repair DNA from living cells and organisms.
ARCUS is based on the naturally occurring genomic editing enzyme I-CreI system, which is a home-based nucleic acid incision enzyme found mainly in chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which allows highly specific cutting of cell DNA to correct genetic defects at the source.
In addition to this collaboration with Lilly, Precision BioScience has reached a strategic partnership with Gilead in 2018 totalling $445 million to develop functional cures for hepatitis B virus in the body using the ARCUS® Genomics Editing Platform.
For Lilly, gene editing technology is becoming a promising treatment for genetic diseases that do not currently have an effective treatment, creating drugs with transformational potential by working closely with the Precision scientific team and using their platform to develop and deliver drugs that target untreated genetic diseases.
, of course, this is just one of the research cooperation and licensing agreements Lilly signed this year.
as early as March, Lilly announced a similar research and development agreement with biopharmaceutical company Sitryx to jointly develop four preclinical treatments for autoimmune diseases discovered by Sitryx in a potential $880 million deal.
, however, Lilly's deal with Precision BioSciences has yet to be approved under Hart-Scott-Rodino's antitrust amendments and other customary trading conditions.
source: 1. Lilly and Precision BioSciences Announce Genome Editing Research Collaboration and License Agreement2.Could Eli Lilly and Precision BioSciences Make Breakthroughs for DMD?