Eli Lilly has announced a global licensing and research collaboration with Avidity Biosciences, focusing on the discovery, development and commercialication of potential new medicines in immunology and other select indications.

The collaboration plans to use Avidity's technology platform to progress new therapeutic approaches toward clinical development and commercialisation, whilst seeking to combine the tissue selectivity of monoclonal antibodies and the precision of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics to potentially overcome barriers to the delivery of oligonucleotides and target genetic drivers of disease.

Avidity will receive an upfront payment of $20 million, as well as an investment of $15 million. The company is also eligible to receive up to approximately $405 million per target for development, regulatory and commercialisation milestones, as well as tiered royalties ranging from the mid-single to low-double digits on product sales.

"This collaboration with Lilly provides an exceptional opportunity to leverage Avidity's proprietary AOC platform in order to generate new therapeutic targets in disease areas that have been challenging to pursue using oligonucleotide-based approaches," said Kent Hawryluk, Avidity's chief business officer. "Lilly's extensive research, development, regulatory, and commercial capabilities make them an ideal partner, and we look forward to a long and productive relationship."