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Eli Lilly to acquire Morphic Holding Inc. in a $3.2 billion deal
If the acquisition goes through, it will support and enhance Eli Lilly’s inflammatory bowel disease portfolio.
On July 8, 2024, Eli Lilly and Company issued a press release alongside Morphic Holdings Inc., announcing Lilly’s plans to acquire Morphic and enhance its inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) portfolio.
Morphic is a biopharmaceutical company that develops oral integrin therapies to treat and manage chronic diseases.
"Oral therapies could open up new possibilities for earlier intervention in diseases like ulcerative colitis, and also provide the potential for combination therapy to help patients with more severe disease," said Daniel Skovronsky, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer of Lilly and president, Lilly Research Laboratories, president, Lilly Immunology, in the press release. "We are eager to welcome Morphic colleagues to Lilly as this strategic transaction reinforces our commitment to developing new therapies in the field of gastroenterology, where Lilly has made significant investments to deliver first-in-class molecules for the benefit of patients."
Among these therapies is a selective oral small molecule α4β7 integrin inhibitor that can be used to manage inflammatory bowel disease. The α4β7 integrin inhibitor, MORF-057, is currently in phase 2 clinical trials for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
"Morphic has always believed that the immense potential of MORF-057 to benefit patients suffering from IBD could be optimized by the ideal strategic partner. Lilly brings unparalleled resources and commitment to the inflammation and immunology field," added Praveen Tipirneni, MD, CEO of Morphic Therapeutic. "We built the Morphic Integrin Technology platform to realize the vast opportunity of integrin therapeutics. MORF-057 is a tremendous example of those efforts, an oral small molecule α4β7 inhibitor with the potential to be well tolerated and efficacious, attributes that could unlock new possibilities in IBD treatment."
According to the press release, the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, pending customary closing conditions; however, both companies’ boards of directors have agreed to the transaction.
The transaction is valued at roughly $3.2 billion and has a purchase price of $57 per share. This value is roughly 79.0% of the closing stock price on July 5, 2024, and 87.3% of the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of Morphic's common stock ended on the same date.
