Eli Lilly strengthens its immunology drug pipeline with $1.2B acquisition of Ventyx Bio
Eli Lilly is building on its prospects in immunology with its $1.2 billion acquisition of Ventyx Biosciences. Ventyx Biosciences is a clinical-stage company with drugs targeting a promising target with the potential to treat a range of inflammatory diseases.
The deal, announced after the close on Wednesday, comes after Ventyx released interim data in the fall for lead program VTX3232, a drug it is developing to treat inflammation that causes cardiovascular disease. The release of the data sparked discussions with Sanofi, whose previous investment in Ventyx gave it first dibs on the project. But Eli Lilly won with an agreement to acquire the entire company.
Ventyx develops oral small molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In recent years, the San Diego-based biotech company has shifted its research and development focus to drugs that inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome, a protein complex that regulates inflammatory signaling. There are currently no FDA-approved drugs targeting NLRP3.
In October, Ventyx reported preliminary data from a Phase 2 study enrolling patients with cardiovascular risk and obesity. The readouts showed that VTX3232 treatment reduced liver protein levels associated with inflammation, as well as a range of biological markers indicative of cardiovascular risk. The drug is safe and well tolerated. But VTX3232 seems to have no future as an obesity drug. The study included a cohort that evaluated the investigational drug along with Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 weight loss drug Wegovy. The results showed that VTX3232 did not cause weight loss as a monotherapy or in combination with Wegovy.
The cardiovascular results follow encouraging data from a separate Phase 2 trial of VTX3232 in Parkinson's disease released over the summer. In this indication, Ventyx is leveraging the molecule's brain-penetrating properties as a way to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
The Ventyx pipeline also includes VTX2735, a peripherally restricted NLRP3 inhibitor in Phase 2 testing for recurrent pericarditis. In addition to NLRP3, Ventyx also has inflammatory bowel disease compounds in mid-stage clinical development: the S1P1R modulator tamuzimod and the TYK2 inhibitor VTX958. Eli Lilly sees a wide range of potential applications for its Ventyx drug.
“There is growing evidence that inflammation is a key driver of many chronic diseases,” Daniel Skovronsky, Eli Lilly's chief scientific and product officer and president of Eli Lilly Research Laboratories, said in a prepared statement. “Ventyx's clinical-stage pipeline addresses the urgent need for better treatment options for chronic inflammation-mediated diseases and further enhances our ability to deliver meaningful advances for patients with challenging diseases across focus areas such as cardiometabolic health, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmunity.”
Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly's main metabolism drug rival, has an NLRP3 inhibitor licensed from startup Ventus Therapeutics. Novo's pipeline lists an NLRP3 inhibitor in Phase 1 development for the treatment of fatty liver disease MASH and cardiovascular disease. Roche also has clinical-stage NLRP3 inhibitors in development. Other companies with NLRP3 inhibitors include BioAge Labs and startup Nodthera.
Financial terms of the acquisition agreement require Eli Lilly to pay $14 in cash for each Ventyx share, a premium of approximately 62% to the stock's 30-day average trading price as of January 5. Ventyx shares soared earlier this week after The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Eli Lilly was close to closing a deal to acquire the biotech company.
The boards of directors of both companies have approved the deal, which still requires approval from Ventyx shareholders and regulators. Eli Lilly expects to complete the acquisition in the first half of this year.
Photo: Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
