South Korea’s Rznomics inks $1.3 bn out-licensing deal with Eli Lilly

Rznomics Inc., a South Korean RNA therapeutics developer, has signed an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion with US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. to license out its novel RNA-editing technology to jointly develop therapies for sensorineural hearing loss.

The deal grants Lilly global rights to Rznomics’ trans-splicing ribozyme (tsRZ) platform, which enables precise RNA editing to repair mutated transcripts without altering DNA, according to the Korean firm’s announcement on Friday.

Rznomics will lead discovery and preclinical development, while Lilly takes over clinical trials, regulatory submissions and global commercialization.

Under the agreement, the Yongin, Gyeonggi Province-based company will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and potentially more than $1.3 billion through development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on future sales.

While many RNA-based therapies rely on silencing or degrading faulty genes, Rznomics’ proprietary tsRZ platform technology actively rewrites defective RNA, restoring normal function without permanent genomic edits.

Its platform allows the application of the RNA editing technology beyond the liver, enabling the development of RNA-editing therapies for various organs.

Once developed, the Rznomics-Lilly therapy would be administered locally into the inner ear to treat sensorineural hearing loss.

The field of RNA therapeutics, once considered an unexplored area, has emerged as the most coveted sector in the global biotech industry in recent years.

Including Rznomics, many Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies have jumped into the market. 

Founded in 2017, Rznomics is seeking to go public on Korea’s tech and bio-heavy junior stock market, the Kosdaq, later this year.

It applied for a technology special listing exemption last month to expedite its IPO, and the latest out-licensing deal is expected to add impetus to its listing.  

Write to Woo-Sang Lee at idol@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.