SanegeneBio Announces Global RNAi Partnership with Eli Lilly

SanegeneBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative RNAi therapeutics, announced a global research and licensing collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company . The companies will collaborate to advance RNAi candidates for metabolic diseases, based on SanegeneBio's proprietary 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, while Lilly will be responsible for the subsequent IND-enabling studies, clinical development and commercialization.

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

"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."

Under the terms of the agreement, 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 milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on future product sales.