Verge Genomics announced a three-year collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company to research and develop novel therapies for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a devastating motor neuron disease. Under the terms of the three-year agreement, Verge will receive up to $25 million in upfront, equity investment and potential near-term payments, with additional milestone value of $694 million and potential downstream royalties. The average life expectancy of a person with ALS is approximately two to five years, and there is currently no cure for the disease. One of the biggest challenges in the treatment of ALS is the underlying complex biology and lack of predictive animal models. Recent advances in genetic sequencing and human tissue banking offer a new opportunity to develop breakthrough therapies. Artificial intelligence allows the processing and integration of multiple types of human data generated by these technologies and is uniquely poised to address diseases with complex biology, such as ALS. In this collaboration, Verge will apply its all-in-human platform to discover and validate new targets for ALS. The all-in-human platform is based on a proprietary collection of patient brain transcriptomes across a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Through its application, the all-in-human platform provides insights into novel causal disease mechanisms in genetically segmented patient populations, and enables the discovery of therapeutic targets. Based on these insights, Verge will apply its human-based discovery capabilities to validate targets. Lilly will select up to four targets identified by Verge with plans to advance through clinical development and commercialization.