Lilly's RNA partner Rznomics joins Lilly Gateway Labs

South Korea-based Rznomics Inc. (KOSDAQ: 476830) has joined Lilly Gateway Labs in San Diego, extending its relationship with Eli Lilly and Company following a 2025 licensing agreement covering RNA-editing therapeutics for sensorineural hearing loss.

The residency gives Rznomics access to wet lab infrastructure and Lilly's scientific and business development network as the biotech advances its trans-splicing ribozyme (TSR) platform. Rznomics said it plans to use the site to accelerate candidate discovery across a database of more than 200 disease targets, expand US research and development recruitment, and build infrastructure for global clinical development.

The residency gives Rznomics access to wet lab infrastructure and Lilly's scientific and business development network as the biotech advances its trans-splicing ribozyme (TSR) platform. Rznomics plans to use the site to accelerate candidate discovery across a database of more than 200 disease targets, expand US research and development recruitment, and build infrastructure for global clinical development.

Rznomics' TSR technology uses engineered ribozymes to replace portions of target pre-mRNA through trans-splicing, allowing disease-associated transcripts to be corrected without permanently modifying genomic DNA. The platform underpins both the company's internal pipeline and its existing collaboration with Lilly.

The companies signed a global research and licensing agreement in May 2025 to discover RNA-editing therapies for sensorineural hearing loss. The agreement could generate more than USD 1.3 billion for Rznomics if Lilly exercises all available options, in addition to tiered royalties. Rznomics conducts early research under jointly agreed plans, while Lilly holds options to assume responsibility for subsequent development and global commercialization. The upfront payment was not disclosed.

Rznomics has taken the TSR approach into clinical development with RZ-001 (taspitimagene advec), an anticancer gene therapy being evaluated in hepatocellular carcinoma and recurrent glioblastoma. The US FDA granted RZ-001 Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation for hepatocellular carcinoma in May 2026. Interim Phase Ib/IIa data have shown confirmed responses in patients receiving RZ-001 in combination with atezolizumab and bevacizumab.

The Gateway Labs move also places Rznomics alongside Lilly's expanding work in RNA therapeutics. In June, Lilly entered a collaboration with Ascidian Therapeutics covering RNA exon-editing therapies for inherited kidney diseases, with potential payments of up to USD 1.9 billion. Ascidian's exon-editing technology and Rznomics' trans-splicing ribozymes use distinct mechanisms, but both seek to modify RNA transcripts rather than permanently edit genomic DNA.

Lilly opened the San Diego Gateway Labs facility in September 2025 as part of its Catalyze360 network for early-stage biotechnology companies.

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