Eli Lilly has snagged Engage Biologics, a biotechnology company that aims to deliver genetic medicines without viral payloads, in a deal worth up to $202 million.
Lilly said Wednesday it has acquired the preclinical biotech in an all-cash deal, including an undisclosed upfront payment, with the possibility of future payouts based on research, development and commercialization milestones. The acquisition gives Lilly non-viral DNA delivery technology, dubbed the “Tethosome” platform.
“We believe that the combination of Engage’s platform with Lilly’s significant capabilities will meaningfully accelerate development of new genetic therapies,” Will Olsen, co-founder and CEO of Engage, said in a statement.
Gene editing and gene therapies have been lauded as promising treatments for severe and life-threatening conditions, but drugmakers have struggled with uptake once they hit the market. They’ve also faced hurdles with the development of such medicines, which often rely on viral vectors such as adeno-associated viruses to get drugs to their targets. AAVs come with safety risks, dosing constraints, manufacturing hurdles and high costs that have quelled some excitement about the field.
Engage believes it can overcome these limitations using elements of multiple technologies. The company’s platform combines DNA payloads with fatty shells known as lipid nanoparticles, rather than viruses, for delivery, while using a messenger RNA sequence for a protein that can directly transport the material to the cell’s nucleus. The uptake of alternative delivery methods like LNPs has become popular among an emerging generation of biotech startups, among them Serif Biomedicines and Orna Therapeutics, the latter of which was acquired by Lilly earlier this year.
Engage said its approach retains the potency and durability of existing genetic medicines, while improving tolerability and redosability. It has not disclosed any programs from its platform.
The acquisition aligns with Lilly’s broader shift into genetic medicines. The pharmaceutical company, best known for its diabetes and weight-loss medicines, has been bolstering its pipeline with gene editing treatments and gene therapies through buyouts. Those deals handed over assets to treat hearing loss, high cholesterol and other conditions.
Engage, based in San Carlos, California, was founded in 2021 and has raised a seed round from investors including Y Combinator and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Engage also received grants from the Gates Foundation and The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences within the National Institutes of Health.
