Eli Lilly has agreed to a collaboration with Seamless Therapeutics valued at up to $1.12 billion, the Germany-based biotech announced. The pact centers on the development and commercialization of treatments for hearing loss that use Seamless' gene-editing technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will obtain access to Seamless' proprietary tools for engineering enzymes intended to correct specific genetic mutations associated with hearing impairment. These engineered enzymes - referred to by Seamless as programmable recombinases - are designed to carry out substantial, targeted changes to DNA at defined sites without relying on the cell's own DNA repair pathways.
Lilly will oversee the program from preclinical testing all the way through to potential commercialization. The structure of the deal includes an upfront payment, committed research and development funding, and contingent payments tied to the achievement of predefined development and commercial milestones, collectively amounting to as much as $1.12 billion.
Seamless' chief executive, Albert Seymour, said in an interview that the collaboration is a means to work with an external partner and its platform while continuing to advance the company's own internal program. He indicated that the company would be open to striking similar partnerships beyond the Lilly agreement.
Seymour also reported that Seamless has raised in excess of $40 million to date and that, when combined with Lilly's upfront contribution, the startup is well positioned from a funding standpoint to move its first experimental drug into laboratory studies by the end of the year.
For Lilly, the agreement fits into a broader strategy of building a portfolio of genetic medicines through acquisitions and collaborations as it seeks growth beyond its leading weight-loss and diabetes products, Zepbound and Mounjaro.
Recent moves by the drugmaker cited in connection with this strategy include a roughly $1.3 billion acquisition of Verve Therapeutics last year to pursue gene-editing approaches aimed at lowering cholesterol in people with heart disease, and a $487 million buyout of Akouos in 2022 to obtain a gene-therapy candidate targeting hearing loss. That Akouos candidate showed evidence of hearing restoration in children in an early to mid-stage trial in 2024.
The Lilly-Seamless collaboration is structured to combine Seamless' enzyme design platform with Lilly's development and commercialization capabilities. The partnership also provides Seamless with capital to advance its lead candidate into laboratory testing within the stated timeframe.