The announcement sent the biopharmaceutical company’s shares up 76% in premarket trading to $56.15.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company announced on Monday (8.Jul.2024) an agreement to acquire Morphic Holding, developer of a promising drug for inflammatory bowel diseases, for approximately US$ 3.2 billion (approximately R$ 17.5 billion). Here is the full statement (PDF – 145 kB).
If the purchase is confirmed, the North American giant will have access to MORF-057, a promising drug from Morphic, which is in phase 2 testing for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
The announcement sent Morphic shares up 76% in premarket trading to $56.15. The surge comes in response to Eli Lilly’s offer to buy the shares for $57 a share, a 79% premium to the biopharmaceutical company’s closing price before the announcement.
MORF-057 is an oral medication for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, with “potential to improve outcomes and expand treatment options for patients”, the statement said. In addition to MORF-057, Morphic is developing drugs to treat autoimmune diseases, pulmonary hypertension, fibrotic diseases and cancer.
“Oral therapies could open up new possibilities for early intervention in diseases such as ulcerative colitis and the potential to provide combination therapy to help patients with more severe disease,” said Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories.
“We look forward to welcoming Morphic’s colleagues to Lilly as this strategic transaction reinforces our commitment to developing new therapies in the gastroenterology space, where Lilly has made significant investments to deliver first-in-class molecules for the benefit of patients.”, he added.
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Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/poder-saude/eli-lilly-compra-a-morphic-em-acordo-de-us-32-bilhoes/
