CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 3, 2024 – QurAlis Corporation (“QurAlis”) today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (“Lilly”) in which QurAlis is granting Lilly global rights to develop and commercialize QRL-204, a potentially best-in-class splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) designed to restore UNC13A function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, QurAlis granted Lilly an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize QRL-204 and other UNC13A-targeting compounds in exchange for an upfront payment of $45 million to QurAlis, plus an additional equity investment. QurAlis is also eligible for future milestone payments of up to $577 million and tiered royalties on net sales.
The agreement includes a research and development (R&D) collaboration to identify and develop additional candidates targeting UNC13A, leveraging QurAlis’ proprietary FlexASO™ Splice Modulator Platform. The QurAlis FlexASO Splice Modulator Platform was developed to generate splice-switching ASOs with improved potency and increased therapeutic index. QurAlis’ ASOs correct UNC13A mis-splicing, restore UNC13A protein production and reduce cryptic exons that may contribute to disease progression.
About QurAlis Corporation
At QurAlis, we are neuro pioneers on a quest to cure. We work with a relentless pursuit of knowledge, a precise attention to craft, and an optimistic mindset to discover and develop effective precision medicines that will alter the trajectory of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and other neurodegenerative diseases. Founded by an internationally recognized team of neurodegenerative biologists from Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, QurAlis is advancing a pipeline with therapeutic candidates that target specific components of ALS and FTD pathology and defined patient populations based on both disease-causing genetic mutation(s) and clinical biomarkers. For more information, please visit www.quralis.com.
