OliX Pharmaceuticals, a developer of gene therapies, has licensed its candidate for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASH) to the U.S. pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. The total contract size is around 900 billion won, but the upfront payment and milestone payments related to the progress of clinical development were not disclosed.
OliX Pharmaceuticals noted on the 7th that it decided to transfer the exclusive rights to the MASH drug candidate (OLX702A) to Eli Lilly for a total of 911.7 billion won.
MASH is a metabolic disease that occurs despite not consuming alcohol, leading to fatty liver. It is primarily linked to chronic metabolic diseases such as obesity and can progress to liver cancer if left untreated.
OLX702A is an advanced drug candidate that incorporates ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) technology. It is a gene therapy that suppresses the activity (expression) of a specific gene (MARC1). When this gene's activity is inhibited, energy metabolism in the body increases, resulting in reduced body fat. Therefore, it helps in weight reduction and improves fatty liver caused by being overweight or obese. A company official explained, “We have confirmed excellent efficacy in preclinical trials for MASH as well as for liver fibrosis and other cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.”
Under the contract, OliX Pharmaceuticals must complete the Phase 1 clinical trial for OLX75016, after which Eli Lilly will proceed with the clinical development and commercialization. OliX Pharmaceuticals plans to use the upfront payment from this contract to fund the Phase 1 clinical trial of OLX702A currently underway in Australia.
CEO Dong-ki of OliX Pharmaceuticals said, “This collaboration with Eli Lilly will accelerate the development of OLX702A and serve as a crucial milestone that will lead to innovative changes in the treatment of various metabolic diseases, including MASH. We hope that the collaboration between the two companies will provide high-quality therapeutic alternatives for patients with metabolic diseases.”
So far, the only MASH treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is Rezafibrate from American company Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. It received FDA approval in March last year, and its global sales were estimated to be around 260 billion won last year.