SanegeneBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing RNAi therapeutics, entered a global research and licensing collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co. The companies will collaborate to advance RNAi candidates for metabolic diseases, based on SanegeneBio’s tissue selective delivery technology, LEAD (Ligand and Enhancer Assisted Delivery).

SanegeneBio will be responsible for discovery and identification of the optimized LEAD-based RNAi molecule for each program and Lilly will be responsible for the subsequent IND-enabling studies, clinical development and commercialization.

SanegeneBio’s LEAD platform has the potential to generate therapies for metabolic diseases that could be administered subcutaneously as infrequently as twice per year.

SanegeneBio will receive an upfront payment and equity investment and will be eligible to receive near-term milestone payments. SanegeneBio will also be eligible to receive up to $1.2 billion in discovery, development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on future product sales. 

“Partnering with Lilly represents a strong validation of our innovative and differentiated LEAD™ platform for tissue-selective delivery of RNAi medicines” said Weimin Wang, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SanegeneBio. “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.”