April 28 (Reuters) – AI firm Profluent said on Tuesday it has struck a multi-program research collaboration with U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly worth up to $2.25 billion to develop AI-designed enzymes for genetic medicines.
Here are some details:
• Under the agreement, Profluent will use its artificial intelligence technology to create custom enzymes designed to make precise changes to DNA.
• Lilly will have exclusive rights to further develop selected enzymes and bring any resulting medicines to market.
• Profluent will receive an upfront payment and research funding, and could earn up to $2.25 billion in milestone payments, as well as royalties on future sales.
• Further financial details were not disclosed, the company said.
• Genetic medicines are treatments designed to treat disease by altering genes or how they function in the body.
• The collaboration is focused on diseases that are hard to treat with existing gene-editing tools, which often can only make small changes to DNA.
• Many inherited diseases are caused by different genetic errors in different patients, making it difficult to develop treatments that work broadly.
• Profluent said its AI approach could allow larger and more accurate DNA changes, potentially enabling doctors to replace faulty genes rather than fix small sections.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Devika Syamnath)
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