Eli Lilly has penned a research collaboration deal with Massachusetts-based biotech, Ascidian Therapeutics, to discover and develop drugs for kidney diseases – adding another bead to the string of genetic medicine-focused deals Lilly has signed over the past few months.
Through this partnership worth up to $1.9bn for Ascidian, the pair will initially look to discover and develop therapies for kidney diseases caused by a singular gene, though Lilly can choose to expand to additional targets if the company so chooses.
In exchange for an undisclosed upfront payment and its commitment to potential milestone and tiered royalty payments, Lilly will receive the exclusive, target-specific rights to Ascidian’s RNA exon editing technology for certain kidney disease targets, which currently remain undisclosed.
As per the deal, Ascidian will take charge of the discovery and some of the preclinical activities associated with any targets identified through the partnership, while Lilly will take the helm for additional preclinical work, as well as clinical R&D, manufacturing and commercialisation.
The key driver of these efforts will be Ascidian’s RNA-based exon editors, which are designed to correct faulty genes linked to disease at the kilobase scale. According to Ascidian’s president and CEO, Michael Ehlers, this approach offers the opportunity to rewrite genes at their source without altering DNA, which he says could “open the door to diseases long out of reach” with current gene and base editing approaches.
Ascidian also touts the potential of the RNA exon editing approach in lowering the risks linked to direct DNA editing and gene replacement, while providing a durable response similar to those seen with gene therapies.
Lilly’s dealmaking spree continues
Lilly’s deal with Ascidian is the big pharma company’s third this week alone, following its $1.26bn licensing deal with Hanmi Pharm for its glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) agonist, sonefpeglutide, and its $3bn deal with Haisco Pharmaceutical to develop innovative medicines.
While Lilly has been casting the net wide with its dealmaking strategy, the company has heavily invested in genetic medicines over the last year, with the company penning multiple partnerships, licensing deals and acquisitions with biotechs in the space.
As the pharma giant waits to see if these approaches will bear fruit, it is also making active efforts to bolster its genetic medicines manufacturing output, having pledged $4.5bn to upgrade its dedicated Indiana-based facility on its Lebanon campus back in May 2026.
These hefty investments come as Lilly looks to expand its commercial success by building a diversified pipeline – funded by the capital generated from strong sales of its weight loss portfolio, which continued on its strong growth trajectory in Q1 following a stellar 2025.
Outside of the genetic medicines realm, notable Lilly deals from 2026 include its $7.8bn acquisition of sleep drug biotech, Centessa, as well as its $8.8bn pact with Chinese biotech, Innovent, focused on developing new cancer and immune disorder therapies.
