BY Richard Summerfield
In a deal which will strengthen the company’s oncology pipeline, Eli Lilly has announced it is acquiring Point Biopharma for $1.4bn.
Under the terms of the deal, Eli Lilly will pay $12.50 per outstanding share of Point, representing a 67 percent premium to the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average price and a premium of approximately 87 percent to Point’s closing stock price on 2 October 2023, the last trading day before the announcement of the transaction. The board of directors of both companies have approved the transaction, and Lilly and Point expect to close the deal toward the end of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.
“Over the past few years, we have seen how well-designed radiopharmaceuticals can demonstrate meaningful results for patients with cancer and rapidly integrate into standards of care, yet the field remains in the early days of the impact it may ultimately deliver,” said Jacob Van Naarden, president of Loxo@Lilly, the oncology unit of Eli Lilly and Company. “We are excited by the potential of this emerging modality and see the acquisition of POINT as the beginning of our investment in developing multiple meaningful radioligand medicines for hard-to-treat cancers, as we have done in small molecule and biologic oncology drug discovery and development. We look forward to welcoming POINT colleagues to Lilly and working together to build upon their achievements as we develop a pipeline of meaningful new radioligand treatments for patients.”
“The combination of POINT’s team, infrastructure and capabilities with Lilly’s global resources and experience could significantly accelerate the discovery, development and global access to radiopharmaceuticals,” said Joe McCann, chief executive of Point. “I look forward to a future where patients all over the world can benefit from the new cancer treatment options made possible by the joining of our two companies today.”
Eli Lilly has agreed to a string of deals this year, including the $2.4bn buyout of Dice Therapeutics, the $1.93bn purchase of privately held Versanis, and Siglon for around $310m. These deals have been oncology focused, and the deal for Point will grant Eli Lilly access to experimental therapies that enable precise targeting of cancer. Point Biopharma is currently testing radioligand therapy candidates, PNT2002 and PNT2003, in late-stage studies. Topline data from these studies are expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.
News: Lilly eyes targeted cancer therapies with $1.4 billion Point Biopharma deal