Eli Lilly is locking down on its rapid expansion strategy with a second deal this week – joining forces with artificial intelligence (AI) biotech, Profluent, to develop recombinases for large-scale gene editing.
The deal, which will see Lilly hand over an undisclosed upfront payment and funding for Profluent’s R&D efforts, could deem the biotech eligible for $2.25bn in development and commercial milestones. Profluent will also see tiered royalties on net sales if any of the developed recombinases were to make it to market.
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Through this partnership, Lilly and Profluent will work across multiple programmes, which will focus on developing and commercialising site-specific recombinases for diseases with “severe unmet needs”. To achieve this, Profluent will take an AI-driven approach – using the technology to create and optimise custom recombinases targeting exact locations in the genome to enable large-scale, precise DNA editing.
Under the deal’s terms, Lilly will also gain the exclusive rights to take selected recombinases through both early and clinical development to commercialisation.
According to Profluent, altering DNA on a kilobase scale could help address the variation in mutations often seen across patients with genetic diseases – potentially allowing more patients in a heterogeneous population to gain benefit compared with the one-size-fits-all approach taken by standard knock-out and base editing methods.
In a statement, Profluent’s co-founder and CEO, Ali Madani, noted that kilobase-scale DNA editing is the “holy grail in genetic medicine,” and AI is the only way to truly unlock the potential of designer recombinases for any location in the genome.
Lilly forges on with dealmaking spree
Lilly’s partnership with Profluent is not the big pharma’s first foray into the world of recombinases, as the company previously forged a $1.12bn collaboration with German biotech, Seamless Therapeutics, to develop recombinase-based therapies for hearing loss in January 2026.
The Indiana-based pharma, alongside Johnson & Johnson, also poured funds into an $85m financing raised by in vivo gene editing startup, Stylus Medicine – supporting the development of its cancer therapies.
Alongside its activity in the recombinase space, Lilly has been on somewhat of a dealmaking spree over the first months of 2026, having handed over $21bn to acquire six biotechs across operating areas like oncology, immunology and cardiovascular diseases.
Most recently, the pharma company bought Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor specialist, Ajax Therapeutics, for $2.3bn – potentially expanding its presence in the blood cancer market.
Lilly’s deal-heavy strategy is similarly mirrored across the pharmaceutical space, as companies look to restock their pipelines amid the looming patent expiries facing their portfolios.
