Eli Lilly expanded its genetic-medicine footprint with two transactions this week: it paid for global rights to MeiraGTx’s retinal AAV program targeting LCA4 and struck a $1.2 billion research partnership with SanegeneBio to advance tissue-selective RNAi candidates for metabolic disease. The MeiraGTx deal gives Lilly an AAV-AIPL1 candidate nearing regulatory submissions for an ultra-rare childhood blindness. The Sanegene pact centers on the company’s LEAD delivery platform and could generate up to $1.2 billion in milestones if RNAi candidates advance to commercialization. Lilly’s moves double down on nucleic-acid modalities—AAV gene therapy for rare ophthalmology indications and RNAi for cardiometabolic targets—while buying external platform and clinical-stage assets to accelerate internal pipelines. Both agreements include upfront payments and downstream milestones; they signal Big Pharma’s continued strategy of buying late-stage genetic assets and partnering on delivery technologies to broaden durable-therapeutic offerings.