The two companies will combine their expertise to drive new immunology candidates toward the clinic.
Eli Lilly struck a $35 million licensing and collaboration agreement with La Jolla, Calif.-based Avidity Biosciences to develop new antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate-based medications in immunology and other select indications.
Under terms of the deal, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly provided Avidity $20 million in an upfront payment, with an additional $15 million investment. The two companies will combine their expertise to drive new immunology candidates toward the clinic, the companies said in a joint statement this morning. Eli Lilly will harness Avidity’s technology platform, which aims to combine the tissue selectivity of monoclonal antibodies and the precision of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics to potentially overcome barriers to the delivery of oligonucleotides and target genetic drivers of disease.
Antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates combine the tissue selectivity of monoclonal antibodies and the precision of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics to overcome barriers to the delivery of oligonucleotides and target genetic drivers of disease, the two companies said this morning.
Andrew C. Adams, chief scientific officer of RNA therapeutics at Eli Lilly, said the company is excited about expanding its oligonucleotide research and development efforts through this strategic collaboration with Avidity. Adams pointed to Avidity’s expertise in “studying the combination of monoclonal antibodies and oligonucleotide-based therapies,” which represent a “promising avenue of research toward development of new RNA-based medicines.”
Eli Lilly is no stranger to attempting to develop RNA-based therapies. Last year, the company struck an agreement with Dicerna Pharmaceutical to use that company’s GalXC RNAi technology platform to develop therapies for up to 10 cardio-metabolic, neurodegeneration and pain targets. At the time that deal was struck, Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer, said the dive into RNAi with Dicerna is an opportunity to “go to where breaking science meets unmet medical needs.”
One year prior, in October 2017, Eli Lilly and Germany-based CureVac AG forged an agreement to develop and commercialize up to five possible cancer vaccines using CureVac’s proprietary RNActive technology, which uses messenger RNA (mRNA) to target antigens on tumors.
If Lilly and Avidity are able to advance their programs through the clinic and into commercialization, it could mean some big bucks for Avidity. As per the agreement, Avidity is eligible to receive up to approximately $405 million per target in development and commercialization milestones, plus royalties.
“This collaboration with Lilly provides an exceptional opportunity to leverage Avidity’s proprietary AOC platform in order to generate new therapeutic targets in disease areas that have been challenging to pursue using oligonucleotide-based approaches,” Kent Hawryluk, Avidity’s chief business officer, said in a statement. “Lilly’s extensive research, development, regulatory, and commercial capabilities make them an ideal partner, and we look forward to a long and productive relationship.”
In addition to its deal with Eli Lilly, Avidity has raised been quietly securing deals and investments. Last year Avidity secured an equity investment from CureDuchenne. Funding from that deal will help to advance pre-clinical development of potential therapies to treat patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Avidity’s AOC technology is expected to address a key issue of oligonucleotide therapeutics for Duchenne, namely, delivery of these powerful therapeutic agents for exon skipping to muscle, diaphragm and heart. In addition to that investment, Avidity has secured $30 million in venture financing from investors, such as Takeda Ventures, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, and F-Prime Capital.
