Sangamo Therapeutics Enters into Agreement with Lilly Sign for Gene Therapy in Neurological Diseases
Friday, April 04, 2025
Sangamo Therapeutics has entered into a licence agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) to support the development of genomic medicines for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
The agreement grants Lilly global exclusive rights to use Sangamo’s neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB, which has shown strong blood-brain barrier penetration and neuronal transduction in nonhuman primates.
Lilly will initially use the STAC-BBB capsid for one CNS target, with an option to expand to up to four additional targets after paying further licence fees. Under the terms of the agreement, Sangamo will oversee the technology transfer, while Lilly will be responsible for research, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory interactions, manufacturing, and global commercialisation of any resulting gene therapy products.
Sangamo will receive an upfront payment of $18 million and may earn up to $1.4 billion in additional milestone payments and licensed target fees across the potential five CNS disease targets. The agreement also includes tiered royalties on future net sales, subject to specified reductions.
This is the third agreement Sangamo has signed with a pharmaceutical company since the STAC-BBB capsid was introduced in March 2024, reflecting continued industry interest in the technology.
Source: sangamo.com
