Lilly agrees $3.2b IBD acquisition

Eli Lilly and Company has agreed to advance a first-in-class oral integrin therapy as a treatment for serious chronic diseases, through its acquisition of Morphic Holding, Inc.

Under the agreement, Lilly will acquire all outstanding shares of Morphic for approximately $3.2 billion.

MORF-057 is a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of α4β7 integrin for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), being developed as Morphic’s lead programme. The molecule is currently in two Phase II studies in ulcerative colitis (UC) and one Phase II study evaluating patients with Crohn’s disease, according to Morphic.

About the acquisition agreement

“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”

“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,” Dr Daniel Skovronsky, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Eli Lilly and President, Lilly Research Laboratories, President, Lilly Immunology explained.

The oral small molecule MORF-057 has "the potential to be well tolerated and efficacious, attributes that could unlock new possibilities in IBD treatment… we eagerly anticipate the path forward for MORF-057 and other integrin medicines under Lilly’s stewardship,” commented Dr Praveen Tipirneni, CEO of Morphic Therapeutic.

Both parties confirmed that the acquisition agreement is not subject to any financing condition. The deal is expected to close in the Q3 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

Progressing its drug development strategy

Eli Lilly and Company shared last month that they had appointed a new Executive Vice President of Global Quality. The new hire will begin their role on 22 July. At the time of the announcement, David Ricks, Chair and CEO of Eli Lilly stated: "With more than 25 years of experience and a proven track record of leading strategic quality initiatives across product lifecycles, Melissa [Seymour] will further advance our culture of quality, which has been integral to our success in bringing innovative medicines to people around the world."

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