Lilly Agrees to Buys Trio of Vaccine Developers
Weight-loss drug market leader is renewing focus on infectious-disease prevention
Eli Lilly LLY 2.24%increase; green up pointing triangle agreed to acquire three vaccine developers in deals worth up to nearly $4 billion combined, the company told The Wall Street Journal.
The deals, to be announced later Tuesday, mark a new push by the weight-loss drug market leader into infectious-disease prevention.
The details
Indianapolis-based Lilly has agreed to acquire Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Co.
Curevo is developing a shingles vaccine that Lilly believes could be as effective as the current standard but with reduced side effects, said Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific and product officer. Lilly could pay up to $1.5 billion in cash for Curevo, including an undisclosed upfront payment and a potential subsequent payment if a certain milestone is met.
LimmaTech is developing vaccines against bacterial pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus. Lilly agreed to pay up to $780 million in cash for LimmaTech, including an undisclosed upfront payment and additional payments for certain clinical and regulatory milestones.
Vaccine Co. is developing a vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus. Lilly agreed to pay up to $1.55 billion in cash including an undisclosed upfront payment and potential clinical and commercial milestone payments.
The context
Lilly has had infectious-disease products in the past, including one of the original polio vaccines and Covid-19 antibodies, but the segment hasn’t been a key area of focus at the company for a while. If the new acquisitions pan out, vaccines could become a core focus joining diabetes, obesity, cancer, immunology and neurodegeneration.
Lilly is approaching dealmaking from a position of strength, flush with cash from its successful GLP-1 drugs, including Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes. It recently agreed to several acquisitions of companies developing drugs for cancer, sleep disorders and autoimmune diseases, each valued at less than $10 billion.
Curevo’s shingles vaccine has completed a midstage clinical trial and is likely a few years away from becoming a commercial product, assuming it clears a larger, late-stage study and regulatory approval, Skovronsky said. Shingles vaccines are recommended for U.S. adults ages 50 and older.
LimmaTech’s staph vaccine, if successful in testing, could be given to patients before surgeries to ward off staph infections. There is no licensed vaccine for staph aureus.
The vaccine that Vaccine Co. is developing could protect against mononucleosis and potentially reduce long-term risk of multiple sclerosis, Skovronsky said. There is no licensed vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus.
“The burden of infectious disease around the world continues to be high and in many cases growing,” Skovronsky said. “And we think we have the scientific tools now to address them.”