Eli Lilly Announces $2.4B Acquisition of Immunology Company Dice Therapeutics

Monday, Eli Lilly announced that it would acquire Dice Therapeutics for $2.4 billion in cash, representing a 40% premium on the recent trading value of the smaller firm. Lilly’s purchase agreement brings aboard several early-stage immunology products and the DELSCAPE small molecule discovery platform.

Currently, DICE has one oral psoriasis immunology candidate in Phase 2 clinical trials. DC-806 inhibits a pro-inflammatory molecule, IL-17, a drug target for psoriasis and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Behind their primary molecule, DICE has DC-853 and a novel scaffold that provides structural diversity and potential potency improvements on the DC-806 small molecule.

DICE is also in the drug discovery stage with two oral programs that target inflammatory bowel disease and other ailments. The company has another drug discovery program for an oral immune-oncology agent that could target various cancers.

"In combination with its novel technology and expertise in drug discovery, DICE's talented workforce and passion for innovation will enhance our efforts to make life better for people living with devastating autoimmune diseases," said Patrik Jonsson, EVP, president of Lilly Immunology and Lilly USA, chief customer officer.

DELSCPE, DICE’s drug discovery platform, aims to optimize the design of small molecules to modulate interactions as effectively as biologics. Using this capability, Lilly and DICE hope to create oral versions of injectable treatments that reduce biological risk and act on established mechanisms.

"Our novel approach to discovering and advancing oral, small molecules against validated protein-protein interaction targets has even greater potential with Lilly's industry-leading clinical development capabilities to get these medicines to patients suffering from autoimmune diseases,” added CEO of DICE therapeutics, Kevin Judice, PhD.

The purchase of DICE is the third in the past three years for Eli Lilly. A transaction valued at $487 million saw Lilly acquire Akouos in 2022, a genetic medicine company that develops therapies for hearing loss and multiple inner ear conditions. In 2021, it was a therapeutic and biology-based platform developer,  Protomer, bought for $1 billion.

Recently, pharma acquisitions faced their most considerable opposition in years after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was taking Amgen to court over its purchase of Horizon Therapeutics (FTC). Holly Vedova, the FTC’s Bureau of Competition Director, commented then that pharmaceutical consolidation had become rampant, leading to fewer life-saving medications and exorbitant price hikes. 

Lilly’s newest acquisition is unlikely to face regulatory pushback due to its small size and a lack of overlap between product offerings.