Profluent
Protein Designer
Stylus Medicine
Gene Drug Developer
InCRISPRDecades before the advent of gene editing, recombinases (recombinase) have been attempted for gene manipulation. Although these enzymes are precise, they naturally target specific bacteria.DNA, difficult to transform, once fell into silence. Nowadays,AITechnology is revitalizing recombinase gene editing, and Eli Lilly, the world's most valuable pharmaceutical company, is also accelerating its strategic layout.
On Tuesday, Eli Lilly andAIBiotech StartupProfluentOfficially reached a cooperation to jointly develop gene editing therapies based on recombinase, with the disease areas involved yet to be disclosed.
According to the agreement,ProfluentExpected to achieve the highest22.5USD billion in development and commercialization milestone payments, while also receiving an upfront payment and research funding provided by Eli Lilly. Eli Lilly will lead the subsequent clinical development work.
This is Lilly's second major collaboration in the recombinase field within three months. This year1By the end of the month, Eli Lilly and Company hadSeamless TherapeuticsReach an agreement to jointly develop therapies for hereditary hearing loss, the latter throughAIUsing directed evolution technology to engineer recombinases, the total transaction amount exceeds11.2Billion US dollars.
In addition, Eli Lilly previously invested in the recombinase startup Profluent Bio, Inc.Stylus Medicine, continuing to invest heavily in this track.
Currently MainstreamCRISPRGene Editing Relies onRNAGuide, capable of flexible targetingDNASites, easy to operate and lower cost. But in precise insertion of large fragmentsDNAThis core demand,CRISPRThere are still obvious shortcomings.
Recombinase, on the other hand, does not requireRNAGuide, targeting specificity directly encoded in the enzyme protein structure, theoretically enabling safer and more efficient complete gene addition or replacement, is regarded as a significant advancement in the field of gene therapy.“Holy Grail”. But for a long time, the complex structure of recombinases has made them difficult to engineer artificially, and each application requires the development of a completely new enzyme, resulting in extremely high R&D barriers.
ProfluentSenior Vice President of Gene EditingPeter CameronHe said that he has been paying attention to recombinase for nearly a decade and had always believed that it was difficult to achieve engineering transformation, andAICompletely changed this situation。
ProfluentRelying on massive recombinase data from nature, combined withAIModel training can be directionally designed to adapt customized recombinases for the human genome. The company's core team comes fromSalesforceSuch technology companies, adhere to“AIPriority”Positioning, not a traditional biotechnology company, itsAIThe platform can broadly generate novel proteins.
2024Year,ProfluentOnce relied onAICreate new types that do not exist in natureCRISPRProtein, triggering industry attention, related editing enzyme authorization requests exceed1200Times.2025Year11Month, the company completed1.06Million-dollar financing, led by Bezos' investment institution, with a valuation close to10Billion US dollars.
Coincidentally, with cooperation from Microsoft and NVIDIA,Basecamp Research, and also redirect recombinase to target the human genome as a core research and development direction.
Lilly's Continued Bet on Recombinase Aligns Perfectly with Its Gene Medicine Strategy. The company is systematically integrating core technologies essential for genomic medicine, spanning both rare and common disease areas. In addition to recombinase, it is also expanding into cutting-edge technologies like in vivo cell therapy through acquisitions, building a complete technological ecosystem.
It is believed in the industry that, withAIWith breakthroughs in protein engineering, recombinant enzymes are expected to compensate.CRISPRThe短板, becoming a key tool for the next generation of gene therapy, while Lilly's intensive layout also indicates that this technology track, which has been dormant for many years, is officially ushering in a renaissance.
