The current Covid-19 pandemic has shown the urgency of creating new drugs. While within the field of antibiotics It has been shown that the ideal is to make correct use of the current options so as not to encourage drug resistance. In both respects, it is essential technology and take advantage of the latest developments in the market. With this in mind, the creation of the Lilly Institute of Genetic Medicine.
In this sense, the pharmaceutical Eli Lilly and Company announced an investment of approximately 700 million dollars for the development and installation of this space in the Boston Seaport.
What will this new space work for?
This project is part of the company’s strategy to advance in the creation of RNA-based medicines. It originated in 2020 with the acquisition and rapid expansion of Prevail Therapeutics, a New York City-based gene therapy pioneer.
What is envisioned is that by working together, researchers in Boston and New York will be able to take advantage of promising RNA- and DNA-based technologies. In this way you will get develop new drugs with the potential to treat or prevent diseases that are still challenging or not possible to treat with current medicines.
“Founding the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine will allow us to combine cutting-edge technologies with our deep biological expertise in a variety of areas, including neuroscience and diabetes. Lilly will focus on drugs that act at the nucleic acid level to advance an entirely new class that targets the root cause of disease, a fundamentally different approach than currently available drugs,” said Andrew C. Adams, Vice President of Genetic Medicine at Lilly and Co-Director of the Institute.
With the work of the Lilly Institute of Genetic Medicine, the company intends to further the development of genetic drugs. This area already represents more than 20 percent of the diabetes, immunology and central nervous system research portfolio.
General characteristics of the Lilly Genetic Medicine Institute
Within five years, Lilly projects the Boston site will grow from 120 to 250 research biologists, chemists, data scientists and other genetic medicine experts. While the New York site will grow to include up to 200 scientists, all employed by the company.
“The institute will enhance our efforts in neurodegenerative diseases and integrate Lilly’s research and genetic medicine platforms with the goal of advancing potentially life-changing new medicines from the laboratory to clinical trials and ultimately to patients. We look forward to working with hundreds of scientists and researchers who share a common goal: to create and develop innovative genetic medicines that improve the lives of people around the world,” said Franz Hefti, CEO of Prevail Therapeutics and Co-Director of the Institute.
The Institute will be housed in 334,000 square feet of leased space in a 12-story building. It will be developed and operated by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., in the Seaport district of Boston. Occupation of the new site is planned for 2024.
The site will also include a shared space, modeled after Lilly Gateway Labs in San Francisco to support biotech startups in Boston. This location will provide a configurable office and laboratory area, with access to Lilly scientists, and opportunities for collaboration. The Institute is expected to create up to 150 additional new jobs once the space is fully occupied.