QurCan, Lilly Ink Research Deal For CNS, PNS Genetic Medicines
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- QurCan Therapeutics (QurCan), a Toronto-based biotechnology company, has announced an exclusive research and collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).
Under the terms of the agreement, QurCan will receive an upfront payment and a strategic investment from Lilly, and is eligible to receive research support payments as well as research, development and commercial milestone payments of up to US$237 million per programme, alongside tiered royalties on global net sales of commercialised products. (US$1 = RM4.08)
QurCan Chief Executive Officer, Mohammad Ali Amini said collaboration with Lilly represents a validation of the company’s polymer-lipid nanoparticle (PLNP) technology platform and its potential to address some of the most challenging delivery problems in genetic medicine.
“The CNS and PNS remain among the most underserved areas in genetic medicine delivery, and we believe our non-viral approach offers a differentiated and versatile solution across various nucleotide cargos.
“We are thrilled to work with Lilly, a company with unparalleled expertise in neuroscience drug development and commercialisation, to bring these therapies to patients who urgently need them,” added Mohammad Ali Amini in a statement.
QurCan and Lilly will collaborate on multiple research programmes focused on the development of PLNP-enabled genetic medicine therapeutics for CNS and PNS delivery.
Through this collaboration, QurCan will be responsible for optimising genetic medicine therapeutics using its TERP platform, while Lilly will be responsible for further research, clinical development and commercialisation of the selected programmes.
-- BERNAMA