Eli Lilly's First Biotech Deal Of 2024, Buys Chronic Disease Player Morphic For $3.2B

Monday, Eli Lilly And Co LLY agreed to acquire Morphic Holding Inc MORF for $57 per share in cash, an aggregate of approximately $3.2 billion.

Morphic is a biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of oral integrin therapies for chronic diseases, including autoimmune, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, fibrosis, and cancer.

Morphic is also advancing its pipeline and discovery activities in collaboration with Schrödinger using its proprietary MInT technology platform.

Morphic’s lead program, MORF-057, is a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of α4β7 integrin for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can potentially improve outcomes and expand treatment options for patients.

MORF-057 is being evaluated in two Phase 2 studies in ulcerative colitis and one Phase 2 study in Crohn’s disease.

In its first quarter 2024 earnings release, Morphic said enrollment continues on track for the EMERALD-2 global phase 2b trial of MORF-057 in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

The primary endpoint of EMERALD-2 is the clinical remission rate at 12 weeks, and it is expected to be reported in the first half of 2025.

Additionally, Morphic is developing a preclinical pipeline of other molecules for autoimmune diseases, pulmonary hypertensive diseases, fibrotic diseases, and cancer.

“Morphic has always believed that the immense potential of MORF-057 to benefit patients suffering from IBD could be optimized by the ideal strategic partner. Lilly brings unparalleled resources and commitment to the inflammation and immunology field,” commented Praveen Tipirneni, CEO of Morphic Therapeutic. “We built the Morphic Integrin Technology platform to realize the vast opportunity of integrin therapeutics.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. The purchase price payable at closing represents a premium of approximately 79.0% to the closing stock price on July 5, 2024, and 87.2% to the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of Morphic’s common stock ended on July 5, 2024, the last trading day before the announcement of the transaction.

Price Action: MORF shares are up 75.4% at $55.84, and LLY shares are up 0.58% at $919.88 during the premarket session at last check Monday.

Photo by rafapress on Shutterstock

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