By Katherine Hamilton
Eli Lilly signed a collaboration and licensing agreement worth up to $1.9 billion with Ascidian Therapeutics to research and develop kidney-disease treatments.
Ascidian, a Boston-based biotechnology company, said Wednesday it granted Eli Lilly exclusive, target-specific rights to its RNA-exon-editing technology for undisclosed kidney-disease targets.
The RNA-exon editors are capable of altering parts of genetic code to repair genetic instructions that cause disease.
Ascidian said it will lead discovery and certain preclinical activities, while Eli Lilly will be responsible for other preclinical work, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization.
Ascidian is eligible to receive up to $1.9 billion, including an upfront payment, development and commercial milestone payments, and tiered royalties on commercial sales worldwide, it said.
Ascidian is retaining the right to pursue other targets in kidney disease, it said.
Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 03, 2026 08:52 ET (12:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
