Lilly and ViaNautis Bio Partner on Development of Novel Therapeutics Delivering Genetic Cargo

Editor's note: this story was originally published on BioPharmInternational.com.

ViaNautis Bio (ViaNautis), a UK-based biotechnology company specializing in delivering targeted genetic nanomedicines, announced on Oct. 28, 2024 that it has entered a collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) in which Lilly will use ViaNautis’ proprietary polyNaut platform to develop precision therapeutics carrying genetic cargos. The collaboration aims to precisely deliver these therapeutics to prioritized tissues to address significant unmet medical needs.

Under the agreement, Lilly will pay ViaNautis an initial upfront payment with the short-term potential of making additional payments, including research-based milestones. ViaNautis is eligible to receive further milestones and royalties contingent upon specific cargo-loaded polyNaut-based products entering clinical development and reaching and reaching commercialization.

“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,” said Francesca Crawford, PhD, co-founder of ViaNautis, in a company press release.

The company’s proprietary polyNaut nanovesicles are designed to precisely target specific tissues and cell types to deliver genetic materials. The technology aims to improve the current delivery of genetic medicines and hold the potential to transform treatment for various diseases, according to the company in the press release.

“I am very excited about our collaboration with Lilly to develop novel genetic medicines for patients in need. I want to thank [Crawford] 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,” said Adi Hoess, MD, PhD, chief executive officer of ViaNautis, in the release. The company is currently working on a pipeline of therapeutics in the central nervous system and cystic fibrosis disease fields (1).

Nanovesicles are being researched as alternatives to extracellular vesicles (EVs) for various applications, including drug delivery. As mediators of intercellular communication, EVs have gained growing interest from researchers for their potential use in the field of regenerative medicines or as a drug delivery vehicle. However, because EVs are derived from stem cells or progenitor cells, their use is limited primarily due to a lack of efficient and scalable production methods (2).

As a result, researchers are turning to nanovesicles, particularly biofabricated cell-derived nanovesicles, as an alternative to EVs that are offer scalable, efficient, and cost-effective production (2). Meanwhile, further research has been underway to develop and test simplified and rapid production methods for cell-derived nanovesicles that offer advantages over traditional methods in terms of yield and cost-effectiveness (3), which are anticipated to offer new approaches to therapeutic drug delivery.

References

1. ViaNautis Bio. Pipeline. vianautis.com/polynaut-technology (accessed Oct. 30, 2024).
2. Ilahibaks, N. F.; Lei, Z.; Mol, E. A.; et al. Biofabrication of Cell-Derived Nanovesicles: A Potential Alternative to Extracellular Vesicles for Regenerative Medicine. Cells 2019, 8 (12),1509. DOI: 10.3390/cells8121509
3. Goh, W. J.; Zou, S.; Ong, W. Y.; et al. Bioinspired Cell-Derived Nanovesicles versus Exosomes as Drug Delivery Systems: a Cost-Effective Alternative. Sci Rep 2017, 7, 14322. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14725-x

Source: ViaNautis Bio