Eli Lilly and Company and MiNA Therapeutics Limited, a pioneer in RNA activation therapeutics, recently announced a global research collaboration to develop novel drug candidates using MiNA's proprietary small activating RNA (saRNA) technology platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, MiNA will utilize its saRNA platform to research up to five targets selected by Lilly that aim to address diseases across Lilly's key therapeutic focus areas. Lilly will be responsible for the preclinical and clinical development of candidates and will retain exclusive commercialization rights for any products resulting from the collaboration.

MiNA will receive a $25 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive potential development and commercialization milestones up to a total of $245 million per target, as well as tiered royalties from the low-single to low-double digits on product sales resulting from the collaboration.

"Small activating RNAs are a promising new technology, which will expand the breadth of Lilly's RNA therapeutics platform and the targets we can pursue," said Andrew C. Adams, Ph.D., vice president for new therapeutic modalities at Lilly. "We are excited about the potential of combining MiNA's leading saRNA platform and our expertise in new modalities to accelerate the development of RNA-based medicines in areas of high unmet medical need."

"This collaboration with Lilly is an important validation of our saRNA platform," said Robert Habib, CEO of MiNA Therapeutics. "Lilly's expertise in the field of RNA therapeutics and clinical development will greatly enhance our efforts to realize the technology's full potential. Together, we aim to unlock new targets in multiple therapeutic areas and to ultimately move them towards clinical development and commercialization."