Eli Lilly to lead oligonucleotide therapy development in new collaboration

Eli Lilly and Company and Creyon Bio, Inc. have agreed to collaborate to advance novel RNA-targeted oligonucleotide therapies for both rare and common diseases.

Under an exclusive license from Creyon, Eli Lilly will lead the discovery for each target. If certain milestones are achieved and it chooses to progress, Eli Lilly will further develop and commercialise these oligonucleotide candidates.

Creyon will utilise its AI-Powered Oligo Engineering Engine to design and optimise new drug candidates for targets specified by Eli Lilly.

Advancing progress of novel RNA oligonucleotide therapies

“We are pleased to partner with Lilly to advance our AI-designed oligos with the goal of making therapies safer and more effective for patients,” commented Serge Messerlian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Creyon Bio.

Creyon’s oligo engineering engine is the first “to efficiently design RNA-targeted oligo therapies using quantum chemistry principles rather than relying on traditional trial-and-error screening processes to significantly accelerate development timelines,” explained Swagatam Mukhopadhyay, the company’s Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer.

Eli Lilly will give Creyon Bio $13 million upfront as part of the agreement. The nucleic acid drug development firm is also eligible for over $1 billion in development and commercialisation payments, subject to achievement of certain milestones.

Eli Lilly’s other therapeutics collaborations and investments

In the last quarter of 2024, Eli Lilly declared two investments to support the advancement of medicine production. The first involved a collaboration with contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Cambrex. Their partnership aims to help external biotech collaborators expedite their product development. These companies will be given access to clinical development capabilities, including drug development and analytical services.

In September last year, Eli Lilly announced a $1.8 billion manufacturing investment in Ireland, in the company’s Limerick and Kinsale sites. Production at the former facility is anticipated to start next year.