Eli Lilly Acquiring Biopharmaceutical Company Morphic
Source: (Photo by Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images.)
INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly announced on Monday that they have reached an agreement to acquire the biopharmaceutical company Morphic.
Morphic is a Massachusetts-based company that develops oral integrin drugs and therapies for serious chronic diseases, including a molecule inhibitor for inflammatory bowel disease. The same inhibitor is being tested for its effectiveness in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
“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.” said Daniel Skovronsky, M.D. Ph.D, chief scientific officer of Lilly.
“We are also grateful to the investigators and patients who have contributed to the success of MORF-057 thus far, and we eagerly anticipate the path forward for MORF-057 and other integrin medicines under Lilly’s stewardship.”
Lilly will be acquiring all of Morphic’s outstanding shares at $57 per share, or approximately $3.2 billion. The purchase is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.
The announcement of this purchase comes shortly after Eli Lilly received approval from the FDA for a new Alzheimer’s drug, Kisunla, which has been shown to slow the decline in memory and thinking abilities of people with the disease.
