Eli Lilly has entered into a research collaboration with Ascidian Therapeutics aimed at discovering and developing treatments for kidney diseases, marking another step in the company’s ongoing genetic medicine strategy. The agreement, which could be worth up to $1.9bn for the Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, will initially focus on therapies targeting kidney disorders linked to a single gene. The partnership also gives Lilly the option to broaden the collaboration to additional disease targets in the future. Under the terms of the arrangement, Lilly will make an undisclosed upfront payment and could provide milestone-based and tiered royalty payments. In return, the pharmaceutical company gains exclusive target-specific rights to Ascidian’s RNA exon editing technology for selected kidney disease targets that have not been publicly disclosed.
The collaboration assigns distinct responsibilities to both companies. Ascidian will oversee discovery efforts and certain preclinical activities tied to targets identified through the partnership. Lilly, meanwhile, will handle further preclinical development, clinical research and development, manufacturing, and eventual commercialization. Central to the agreement is Ascidian’s RNA-based exon editing platform, which is designed to correct disease-causing genetic errors at the kilobase scale. According to Michael Ehlers, president and CEO of Ascidian, the technology has the potential to rewrite genes at their source without changing DNA and could “open the door to diseases long out of reach” with current gene and base editing approaches. The company also highlights the potential for RNA exon editing to reduce risks associated with direct DNA modification and gene replacement while delivering durable responses comparable to gene therapies.
The Ascidian agreement represents Lilly’s third transaction announced this week. Earlier, the company signed a $1.26bn licensing deal with Hanmi Pharm covering the glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) agonist sonefpeglutide and reached a separate $3bn agreement with Haisco Pharmaceutical focused on innovative medicines. These moves reflect Lilly’s broader investment activity across multiple therapeutic areas.
Over the past year, Lilly has continued to expand its presence in Genetic Medicine through partnerships, licensing agreements, and acquisitions involving biotechnology companies. Alongside research investments, the company is also strengthening manufacturing capabilities, having committed $4.5bn in May 2026 to upgrade its dedicated facility on the Lebanon campus in Indiana. The investments support Lilly’s efforts to build a diversified pipeline, backed by revenue generated from its weight-loss portfolio. Beyond genetic medicines, major transactions completed in 2026 include the $7.8bn acquisition of Centessa and an $8.8bn agreement with Innovent to advance therapies for cancer and immune disorders.
