Eli Lilly is to acquire LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Company. Along with its acquisition of Curevo, the companies will expand Lilly’s research and development efforts into infectious disease.
LimmaTech Biologics is developing vaccines against bacterial pathogens for which rising antimicrobial resistance is steadily closing therapeutic options, including Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and chlamydia trachomatis. The company’s proprietary platform is designed to generate broad, durable immune responses against complex bacterial targets by targeting the toxins and superantigens that drive disease.
LimmaTech’s lead programme, LTB-SA7, is in phase 1 development as a vaccine against S. aureus, the leading cause of surgical-site infection. The company’s preclinical pipeline is pursuing additional bacterial pathogens, including those that drive infertility and other long-term consequences of infection that fall disproportionately on women. A vaccine-led prevention strategy could change the trajectory of diseases that are becoming increasingly difficult to treat.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire LimmaTech for up to $780m in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and additional potential payments based upon the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones.
Vaccine Company is developing proprietary in vivo nanoparticle (IVN) technologies designed to enable the antigen display known to elicit durable immune responses associated with virus-like particle vaccines, while avoiding the manufacturing burden of traditional VLP production.
The company is advancing a broad preclinical pipeline spanning multiple viral pathogens; the lead programme applies this technology to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) with a five-antigen phase 1-ready candidate. Given the growing evidence linking EBV to multiple sclerosis and several malignancies, a prophylactic vaccine could prevent not only acute infectious mononucleosis but also the long-term neurological and oncological consequences that may follow infection.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will acquire Vaccine Company for up to $1.55bn in cash, inclusive of an upfront payment and subsequent payments upon achievement of certain clinical and commercial milestones.
Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific and product officer, and president at Lilly Research Laboratories, said: “These acquisitions reflect a deliberate strategy to prevent disease at its source rather than treat its consequences. As antimicrobial resistance erodes our ability to treat bacterial infections, vaccines are increasingly the only path to prevention. Combining these companies’ platforms and teams with Lilly’s global scale positions us to change that trajectory.”