Lilly Completes $3.2 Billion Acquisition of Morphic, Boosting Its IBD Pipeline

Sean K - stock.adobe.com

Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) completed its acquisition of Morphic Holding, a biopharmaceutical company developing oral integrin therapies for serious chronic diseases, earlier this month. The move boosts Lilly’s immunology pipeline, adding Morphic’s drug candidate, MORF-057, a selective oral small-molecule inhibitor of α4β7 integrin, which is in development for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to an Aug. 16, 2024 company press release.

The acquisition’s completion comes a month after Lilly first announced its intention in July 2024 to acquire Morphic in a strategic move to improve outcomes for patients with IBD (1). Under the agreement, Lilly began a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Morphic for $57 per share in cash, or an aggregate amount of approximately $3.2 billion, payable at the close of the transaction. The transaction was approved by the boards of directors of both companies (1).

"We are committed to exploring innovative approaches for immunologic diseases and believe Morphic's pipeline holds promise in improving outcomes and expanding treatment options for people with devastating conditions [such as] IBD," said Daniel Skovronsky, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer of Lilly and president, Lilly Research Laboratories and Lilly Immunology, in the company press release.

MORF-057, Morphic's lead program, has the potential to improve outcomes and expand treatment options for IBD patients. MORF-057 is currently being evaluated in two Phase II studies in ulcerative colitis and another Phase II study in Crohn's disease. Morphic is additionally developing a preclinical pipeline of other molecules for treating autoimmune diseases, pulmonary hypertensive diseases, fibrotic diseases, and cancer (1).

"Acquiring Morphic reinforces our growing capabilities in gastroenterology, building on the strong foundation of Omvoh, our first-in-class molecule already approved and launched around the world for ulcerative colitis and under regulatory review for Crohn's disease. Further, the acquisition allows Lilly to research potential combination treatments that could better serve people beyond what is possible with currently available medicines," Skovronsky also said in the release. Lilly’s Omvoh (mirikizumab-mrkz) is indicated in the United States for treating moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adults.

In an earlier move this month, Lilly opened its Seaport Innovation Center (LSC) in Boston, Mass., which serves as a R&D facility in the Boston Seaport district for advancing the company’s efforts in RNA and DNA-based therapies. The center will also conduct R&D for discovering new drug targets for developing therapeutics across several disease areas, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration, and chronic pain (2).

LSC is housed in a 12-story building and totals 346,000 square feet. The new site includes laboratories and office space. It will also house the first Lilly Gateway Labs location on the East Coast of the US. Lilly’s goal is to foster a culture of shared expertise and real-time learning in the hopes of accelerating the development of novel medicines. The center is expected to accommodate approximately 500 Lilly scientists and researchers as well as 200 people from companies within Lilly Gateway Labs.

References

1. Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly to Acquire Morphic to Improve Outcomes for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Press Release. July 8, 2024.
2. Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly Opens State-of-the-Art Research and Development Center in the Boston Seaport. Press Release. Aug. 13, 2024.

Source: Eli Lilly and Company