Eli Lilly will spend approximately $2.4 billion acquiring Dice Therapeutics to create more drugs for combating autoimmune diseases.
American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has announced it is set to purchase biopharma company Dice Therapeutics. Eli Lilly hopes the $2.4 billion deal will help the company develop more drugs to treat immune diseases.
According to an official press release from both companies, Eli Lilly will buy all of Dice’s outstanding shares via a tender offer. Already approved by both boards of directors, the deal will price each share at $48, to a total of nearly $2.4 billion. The agreement also allows for a second-step merger for Eli Lilly to buy any Dice shares not included with the tender offer. The second step is subject to a successful closing of the tender offer, which depends on expected closing conditions, such as an official antitrust clearance.
Terms of the Eli Lilly and Dice Deal
The press release also states other terms of the agreement. For instance, the deal allows Eli Lilly to choose whether the agreement is an asset acquisition or a business merger. Furthermore, according to the agreement, the transaction will likely close in Q3 2023 as no financing conditions are required.
Speaking on the deal, Dice Therapeutics CEO Kevin Judice said the company is eager to have its products benefit from the resources Eli Lilly presents. Judice also said there is great potential as both companies embark on a “united quest for scientific innovation”.
For Eli Lilly’s executive vice president Patrik Jonsson, the partnership between both companies will considerably help people with related health challenges. Jonsson said:
“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. We welcome DICE colleagues to Lilly and, together, we can tackle the challenges ahead in finding new treatments for patients with significant unmet medical needs.”
Founded in 1876, Eli Lilly has developed medications and diagnostics that help treat several ailments, including cancer and diabetes. Its portfolio contains drugs that tackle disease in the areas of neurodegeneration, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular disorders.
Common Eli Lilly drugs include Taltz and Olumiant. Last year, Taltz, a treatment for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, brought Eli Lilly $2.48 billion. Olumiant, which treats rheumatoid arthritis, pulled sales worth $830.5 million in 2022 as well.
To grow its portfolio and expand offerings, Eli Lilly is already investing in artificial intelligence (AI). The company is also studying its benefits for drug discovery. Speaking to Business Insider, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks believes AI is “one of the most exciting technological moves” in a while. A spokesperson said the company is investing in machine learning and AI for several endeavors. Some of these include drug discovery, robotic-press automation, natural-language generation, and chatbots.
For drug discovery, Ricks also said AI will help Eli Lilly to automate specific mundane business processes. According to him, doing this would help to “augment human productivity”.
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