Eli Lilly has announced that it will acquire Curevo to expand the company’s research and development efforts into infectious disease. Infectious diseases remain a major source of global morbidity, both in their acute presentation and in the downstream health consequences of primary infection.
Curevo’s lead product candidate, amezosvatein, is an adjuvanted subunit vaccine for the prevention of shingles in adults. While the current standard of care for shingles prevention is effective, tolerability challenges can limit the overall vaccination rates and contribute to second-dose hesitancy, leaving a meaningful portion of patients with reduced or no protection against shingles and its long-term consequences.
Amezosvatein was engineered with a next-generation synthetic adjuvant to overcome this problem. In a phase 2 clinical trial head-to-head against the standard of care, amezosvatein matched immune response across all primary endpoints and reduced side effects such as activity-limiting fatigue, chills and pain at the injection site by more than half.
Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific and product officer, and president at Lilly Research Laboratories, said: “Decades of evidence now link common infections to diseases that potentially emerge years later, including neurological disease, cancer and infertility.”
Given growing evidence linking shingles to elevated risk of stroke, and that shingles vaccination is associated with reduced dementia risk, a meaningfully better-tolerated vaccine could expand the reach of shingles prevention and reduce these long-term risks at a population level.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire Curevo and Curevo shareholders could receive up to $1.5 billion in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payment upon achievement of a specified milestone.