Eli Lilly Just Announced a Major Acquisition. Here's What It Means.

This week, Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) announced a deal that will add to its already formidable drug pipeline.The drug maker said it will acquire Merida Biosciences for $2.9 billion, beefing up its pipeline of potential treatments for autoimmune and allergic diseases. Merida is developing drugs that selectively degrade pathogenic autoantibodies, disease-causing agents that underlie a host of immune-mediated conditions. Many other autoimmune therapies broadly suppress the entire immune system, whereas the therapies Merida is working to bring to market target only specific pathogens without disrupting normal immune processes.The company's leading therapy, MER511, is in Phase 1 development for Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease. About 3 million people in the U.S. have Graves' disease, and many of them go on to develop the eye condition.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool