Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) has acquired exclusive rights to Entos Pharmaceuticals’ Fusogenix proteolipid vehicle (PLV) drug-delivery technology.
Indianapolis-based Lilly plans on using the platform to discover and develop nucleic acid products intended for the nervous system.
Lilly is optimistic that Fusogenix could help it address hurdles tied to nucleic acid therapeutic modalities.
In the collaboration, Edmonton, Canada–based Entos will focus on creating and optimizing PLVs, while Lilly will select PLVs it intends to use for clinical development and commercialization.
The Fusogenix platform delivers a proteo-lipid vehicle (PLV) payloadinto the cytoplasm. Fusogenix image courtesy of Entos Pharmaceuticals
Lilly will pay Entos $50 million upfront and could pay up to $400 million in additional milestone payments. Entos also could receive royalties from commercialized products stemming from the collaboration.
“Nucleic acid-based therapies hold great promise in addressing the biologic cause of many serious diseases that have significant unmet medical need,” said Andrew Adams, vice president, Lilly Genetic Medicine, in a statement. “Overcoming barriers to the safe and effective delivery of such therapies to specific target cells is essential to realizing their potential.”
Separately, Entos has tested its Fusogenix platform in a DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. Known as Covigenix VAX-001, the investigational vaccine is now the subject of a Phase 2 study.