Eli Lilly acquires three vaccine companies for infectious disease portfolio

Eli Lilly and Company will acquire three vaccine companies to expand its reach into infectious disease research, according to a company news release published today.

The three companies are Curevo Inc. (Curevo), LimmaTech Biologics AG (LimmaTech Biologics) and Vaccine Company, Inc. (Vaccine Company).

"These acquisitions reflect a deliberate strategy to prevent disease at its source rather than treat its consequences," Daniel M. Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific and product officer, and president, Lilly Research Laboratories, said in the news release. "Decades of evidence now link common infections to diseases that potentially emerge years later, including neurological disease, cancer and infertility. And 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."

Curevo’s lead product is amezosvatein, which is an adjuvanted subunit vaccine for the prevention of shingles in adults.

Although the current two-part shingles vaccine is effective, tolerability challenges can affect vaccination rates. This is especially true when it comes to the second dose if the first dose was unpleasant for the individual. Side effects include fatigue, chills and pain at the injection site.

Amezosvatein uses a novel adjuvant system designed to stimulate a strong immune response while minimizing the side effects. In a phase 2 clinical trial of amezosvatein, it was found to be just as effective as the leading shingles vaccine and it reduced side effects by more than half.

The agreement between Lilly and Curevo states that Curevo shareholders could receive up to $1.5 billion in cash, which includes an upfront payment followed by a payment upon achievement of a specified milestone, the release states.

LimmaTech Biologics is developing vaccines for antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens. This is a rising concern for certain infections, including Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis.

To do this, LimmaTech has developed LTB-SA7, which is their lead program currently in phase 1 development for a vaccine against S. aureus, the leading cause of surgical site infection.

Other preclinical pipeline pursuits include bacterial pathogens that drive infertility in women.

The press release states that per the agreement Lilly will acquire LimmaTech for up to $780 million in cash. This amount also includes an upfront payment, plus payments based upon clinical and regulatory milestone fulfillment.

The focus of Vaccine Company is the development of proprietary in vivo nanoparticle technologies that cause the body to build its own virus to teach the immune system how to fight the real one. This technology eliminates the need for complicated factory manufacturing and can save companies money.

Vaccine Company’s lead program is using this technology to develop a vaccine for the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), which is the most common cause of infectious mononucleosis. A growing body of evidence suggests EBV is linked to multiple sclerosis. Researchers have estimated that EBV may be responsible for more than 97% of multiple sclerosis cases, making a preventive vaccine a potentially significant advance in neurology.

Lilly’s agreement with Vaccine Company states that Vaccine Company stakeholders could receive up to $1.55 billion in cash, including an upfront payment, followed by the completion of development milestones.