Lilly inks capsid license agreement with Sangamo

Eli Lilly has signed a license agreement with Sangamo Therapeutics allowing Lilly to leverage Sangamo’s novel proprietary neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB.

The agreement grants Lilly a worldwide exclusive license to utilize the STAC-BBB capsid for one initial target, with the right to add up to four additional targets after paying additional licensed target fees, to deliver their intravenously administered genomic medicines to treat certain diseases of the central nervous system.

Per the deal, Sangamo will receive an $18 million upfront license fee from Lilly and is eligible to earn up to $1.4 billion in additional licensed target fees and milestone payments across the five potential neurology disease targets, as well as tiered royalties on potential net sales. Sangamo will be responsible for completing a technology transfer related to the STAC-BBB capsid, while Lilly will handle all research, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory interactions, manufacturing, and global commercialization of any resulting gene therapy products.

This marks the third agreement with a pharma company since Sangamo announced the discovery of STAC-BBB in March 2024, sharing data indicating that the capsid had demonstrated an ability to cross the blood-brain barrier in non-human primates and mediated robust transduction, transgene expression, and targeted, potent epigenetic repression throughout the brain after intravenous administration.

Sangamo agreed to license STAC-BBB to Genentech in August 2024, for tau and a second neurology target. The licensing was part of a larger deal that involved a Genentech handing Sangamo $50 million upfront and up to $1.9 billion in development and commercial milestone payments. In December 2024, Sangamo inked a STAC-BBB licensing deal with Astellas for one target, with the right to add up to four additional neurological diseases targets. Astellas paid Sangamo $20 million upfront and potentially up to $1.3 billion in additional licensed target fees and milestone payments.