Scribe Therapeutics has achieved a second success milestone in its collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company, positioning the company to receive milestone payments exceeding $1.5 billion across their in vivo CRISPR programs targeting neurological and neuromuscular diseases. The milestone underscores progress in applying Scribe’s engineered X-Editor technology to precisely edit clinically relevant genetic targets.

The achievement also reinforces Scribe’s broader pipeline, which includes wholly owned programs in cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and validates its platform for next-generation gene editing therapies.

Benjamin Oakes, co-founder and chief executive officer of Scribe Therapeutics, said: “This milestone reflects strong execution and continued validation of our in vivo CRISPR technologies by a partner with deep technical and clinical rigor.

“Advancing this program with Lilly reinforces our conviction that purpose-built CRISPR technologies can clear the potency and specificity thresholds required for transformative therapies in neurological and neuromuscular diseases. In parallel, we are deploying the same engineering engine across our wholly owned cardiovascular and metabolic pipeline, where we see a significant opportunity to build durable, differentiated medicines for large, high-impact patient populations.”

The collaboration between Scribe and Lilly was announced in 2023, with an initial milestone and a joint scientific presentation at ASGCT in 2025 marking early progress. In addition to milestone payments, Scribe is eligible for low double-digit royalties on future approved products.

Svetlana Lucas, chief business officer at Scribe, added: “With the achievement of this second success milestone, Scribe is further advancing a productive collaboration with Lilly. We are leveraging the complementary strengths of our teams and a shared commitment to innovation in genetic medicine to improve therapeutic options for patients.”

Scribe’s X-Editor platform is designed for precise, versatile gene editing, including knock-out, knock-in, exon skipping, and other targeted modifications. The system combines a compact, engineered CasX enzyme with enhanced nuclease stability, DNA binding, and cleavage activity, resulting in high editing efficiency while maintaining target specificity. The technology is being developed to support one-time, durable treatments for genetically defined diseases.