Eli Lilly announces acquisition of 3 vaccine makers in $4 billion deal
by Joe Fisher · UPIMay 26 (UPI) -- Eli Lilly announced Tuesday that it is acquiring three vaccine companies in deals totaling nearly $4 billion.
Eli LIlly is acquiring Curevo Inc., LimmaTech Biologics AG and Vaccine Company, Inc., expanding its research and development in vaccines for infectious diseases. The deal for Vaccine Company is the largest at $1.55 billion, followed by Curevo at $1.5 billion and LimmaTech Biologics AG for up to $780 million in cash.
"These acquisitions reflect a deliberate strategy to prevent disease at its source rather than treat its consequences," Daniel M. Skovronsky, chief scientific and product officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories, said in a statement.
"Decades of evidence now link common infections to diseases that potentially emerge years later, including neurological disease, cancer and infertility. And as antimicrobial resistance erodes our ability to treat bacterial infections, vaccines are increasingly the only path to prevention. Combining these companies' platforms and teams with Lilly's global scale positions us to change that trajectory."
Following the news of the acquisitions, shares in Eli Lilly went up 0.9% at the open of Tuesday's market.
Curevo's key vaccine amezosvatein is for adult shingles. It was developed with a synthetic adjuvant that enhances the body's immune response. It has been engineered to improve tolerability, which is a barrier to vaccination rates.
LimmaTech Biologics' vaccines are developed for use against bacterial pathogens, particularly sexually transmitted infections like Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis, as well as Staphylococcus aureus, a common skin infection.
The Vaccine Company is developing its proprietary Vivo Nanoparticle technologies for effective drug delivery to combat viral pathogens like the Epstein-Barr Virus.
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Wreathes are seen amongst the statues at the Korean War Veterans Memorial during Memorial Day weekend in Washington on May 27, 2023. Memorial Day, which honors U.S. military personnel who died while in service, is held on the last Monday of May. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo