Eli Lilly Buys Waltham-Based Morphic Holding In $3.2 Billion Deal

WALTHAM, MA — A Waltham biotech company just cashed out in a multibillion-dollar deal with industry giant Eli Lilly.

Eli Lilly and Morphic Holding, Inc., announced the deal on Monday that will see Lilly purchase all outstanding shares of the Waltham biotech that develops oral integrin therapies for treatment of serious chronic diseases.

The deal is worth about $3.2 billion, according to the terms of the agreement released by the companies. It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

Morphic's lead program targets the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. The company says it "has the potential to improve outcomes and expand treatment options for patients," and is being evaluated in two Phase 2 studies in ulcerative colitis and one Phase 2 study in Crohn's disease.

The company is also working on treatments for autoimmune diseases, pulmonary hypertensive diseases, fibrotic diseases and cancer.

For Eli Lilly, the move is important as it expands the company's immunology pipeline with oral integrin therapies.

"Oral therapies could open up new possibilities for earlier intervention in diseases like ulcerative colitis, and also provide the potential for combination therapy to help patients with more severe disease," said Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Lilly and president, Lilly Research Laboratories, president, Lilly Immunology, in a statement.

"We are eager to welcome Morphic colleagues to Lilly as this strategic transaction reinforces our commitment to developing new therapies in the field of gastroenterology, where Lilly has made significant investments to deliver first-in-class molecules for the benefit of patients."