Lilly to Acquire Prevail Therapeutics
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) has announced plans to acquire Prevail Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: PRVL) in New York in a deal valued at more than $1 billion. Lilly says the acquisition will extend its research efforts through the creation of a gene therapy program anchored by Prevail’s portfolio.
Prevail Therapeutics specializes in the development of gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
“Gene therapy is a promising approach with the potential to deliver transformative treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Gaucher and dementia,” said Dr. Mark Mintun, vice president of pain and neurodegeneration research at Lilly. “The acquisition of Prevail will bring critical technology and highly skilled teams to complement our existing expertise at Lilly, as we build a new gene therapy program anchored by well-researched assets. We look forward to completing the proposed acquisition and working with Prevail to advance their groundbreaking work through clinical development.”
Among the therapies developed by Prevail, two are currently in clinical trials and have received Fast Track Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The first, PR001, aims to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations while the other, PR006, is being developed for patients with frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations.
“I’m incredibly proud of the Prevail team, who have made great progress advancing our pipeline of gene therapy programs for patients with these devastating disorders,” said Dr. Asa Abeliovich, founder and chief executive officer of Prevail. “In just over three years, Prevail has advanced two first-in-class gene therapy programs into clinical development for PD-GBA, nGD, and FTD-GRN, established two manufacturing platforms, and developed a broad pipeline with great potential to impact patients in need of disease-modifying treatment options. With its global scale and resources, Lilly will be the ideal organization to maximize the potential of our pipeline and accelerate our ability to bring these therapies to as many patients as possible.”
As part of the deal Lilly will acquire Prevail for $880 million at closing, plus an additional $160 million through a contingent value right (CVR), which will be payable upon the first regulatory approval of a product from Prevail’s pipeline by the end of 2024.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. You can learn more about the deal, plus the therapies being developed by Prevail, by clicking here.