Creyon Bio, Inc. (Creyon) has entered a global licensing and multi-target research collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel RNA-targeted oligonucleotide (oligo) therapies for a broad range of diseases. 

As a part of the collaboration, Creyon will leverage its industry-first AI-Powered Oligo Engineering Engine to design and optimize new drug candidates for Lilly’s named targets on time scales not previously achievable in nucleic acid drug development.

Under the terms of the agreement, Creyon will receive a $13 million upfront payment, which includes cash and the purchase of Creyon equity, and Creyon is also eligible to receive over $1 billion in development and commercialization payments provided certain milestones are achieved.

“This partnership marks an important milestone for Creyon as we work to advance our RNA-targeted oligo therapy pipeline to the clinic for both rare and common diseases,” said Serge Messerlian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Creyon Bio.

“Creyon has built an industry-first and only oligo engineering engine to efficiently design RNA-targeted oligo therapies using quantum chemistry principles rather than relying on traditional trial-and-error screening processes to significantly accelerate development timelines,” added Swagatam Mukhopadhyay, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer.

Lilly is granted an exclusive license to lead candidates for each target, and if Lilly decides to move forward after certain milestones are achieved, then it will be responsible for further research, development, and commercialization.