Marking its biggest takeover ever, Eli Lilly will buy Loxo Oncology for about $8 billion in cash — the second multibillion-dollar cancer deal of the new year.
The Connecticut-based biotech is developing cancer treatments that target a tumors’ genetic markers regardless of where in the body they’re located. Loxo’s one marketed drug, Vitrakvi, is the leader in the field of TRK inhibitors, medicines that aim to shrink tumors by targeting a rare genetic anomaly. Loxo's pipeline includes LOXO-292, an oral RET inhibitor being studied across multiple tumor types, which recently was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA and could launch in 2020.
Analysts expect Loxo to generate $1.14 billion in sales in 2023, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The deal is expected to close by March.
This deal follows shortly after Bristol-Myers Squibb announced it would buy Celgene for about $74 billion, combining two of the world’s largest cancer drug businesses in the first megadeal of the year.
Read the press release
