Eli Lilly Enters up to $1.9 Billion Research Collaboration Agreement With Ascidian Therapeutics

Paul, Weiss advised Eli Lilly and Company in a global research collaboration and licensing agreement with biotechnology company Ascidian Therapeutics to discover and develop therapies for undisclosed monogenic kidney diseases, with the option to expand into an additional therapeutic area. Under the agreement, Lilly will pay Ascidian up to $1.9 billion, including an upfront payment, development and commercial milestone payments. In exchange, Lilly will receive exclusive, target-specific rights to Ascidian’s RNA exon editing technology for undisclosed kidney disease targets. Ascidian will lead discovery and selected preclinical activities, with Lilly responsible for additional preclinical work, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization. 

The Paul, Weiss team was led by intellectual property partners Bonnie Chen and Jeffrey Osterman, and associate Jackson Xu.