ViaNautis Bio collaborating with Eli Lilly to leverage polyNaut platform
ViaNautis Bio has announced a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company which will leverage ViaNautis’ platform for precise delivery of genetic cargos to prioritised tissues to address significant unmet medical needs.
ViaNautis was spun out of UCL in 2018 by co-founders Dr Francesca Crawford, Dr Denis Cecchin, and Professor Giuseppe Battaglia, inventor of polyNaut and honorary professor at UCL.
PolyNaut is a versatile nano-engineered polymer technology designed for targeted intracellular delivery. This innovative technology enables polymer nanoparticles to deliver a wide range of payloads from small molecules to genetic materials creating 'a bionic nanoparticle.'
The highly adaptable polymer structure of polyNaut can be formulated to encapsulate a wide array of genetic cargoes, with sizes exceeding current standards for viral and non-viral delivery. Notably, it enhances the therapeutic efficacy of encapsulated molecules through direct delivery to the cell cytoplasm, facilitated by GOTO technology for intracellular shuttling.
Under the terms of the agreement, ViaNautis will receive an initial upfront payment from Lilly, with the short-term potential for additional payments including research-based milestones. Further milestones and royalties would be due should specific cargo-loaded polyNaut-based products enter the clinic and reach commercialisation.
Co-founder Dr Crawford was CEO until last month, when she handed over to Dr Adi Hoess.
She said: “This collaboration with Lilly is a testament to our polyNaut platform, which is also driving a highly differentiated emerging pipeline for severe life-limiting diseases. Combining our scientific know-how to precisely deliver genetic nanomedicines targeting difficult-to-reach sites, with Lilly’s extensive drug development and commercialization expertise will accelerate the creation of novel therapies to improve patient outcomes.
Dr Hoess, ViaNautis CEO, said: “I am very excited about our collaboration with Lilly to develop novel genetic medicines for patients in need. I want to thank Fran and the team for their hard work in getting to this key milestone and I look forward to working with Lilly to accelerate our shared vision of delivering targeted genetic medicines.”
